


The Troupe's Pair

by Bandit_Unit_number_4045, Kat_the_Hetalia_fan



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst, Blow Jobs, Clones, Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dancing, Divine gets a proper appearance, Egg Laying, First Time Parents, Flashbacks, Fluff, Grimm is a tease, Grimm wants a baby, Headcanon, Hugs, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, Parenthood, Porn With Plot, Smut, Surprise Kissing, Threesome - M/M/M, Wholesome
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:07:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22725151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bandit_Unit_number_4045/pseuds/Bandit_Unit_number_4045, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat_the_Hetalia_fan/pseuds/Kat_the_Hetalia_fan
Summary: After serving his master for quite an eternity, Brumm wonders if Grimm has feelings for him. However, that is highly unlikely, considering he is the troupe master. And Grimm wouldn't stoop that low for him, right? Right??
Relationships: Brumm/Grimm (Hollow Knight)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 75





	1. A Ritual of Passion

**Author's Note:**

> My second HK fanfic, this time with Grimm and Brumm in the center stage. This'll also be posted to the Hollow Knight Rule 34 subreddit, so feel free to check it out if you like reading things on Reddit more https://www.reddit.com/r/Hollow_Knight_R34/

Somewhere in a realm where darkness and flame dance in harmony, large scarlet tents were pitched, sheltering a peculiar group: An insect who takes the role of merchant, a bug tunes and plays his accordion which echoes throughout, and a Troupe Master rehearsing in front of an empty stage. Though with different positions, they all await the same: To be called by one of their acolytes, to perform the ritual for the Nightmare Heart.

Brumm sighed as he decided to put down his accordion for the time being. Having been in the troupe for as long as he had, Brumm had already memorized most of the songs. Practicing almost felt like a waste of time, but it was also a muscle memory from before the troupe as well. If Brumm went more than a few days without practicing, he would start to feel like there was an itch inside of his shell that he couldn't scratch. The only way to get it to stop was to play his accordion.

Having sated that itch, he decided to go and find Grimm and see if there was anything that needed to be done to be prepared for the next show. Brumm finds the troupe master rehearsing for their next performance. Seeing Grimm performing was always amazing, even when he was just practicing this time. It did confuse Brumm as to *why* Grimm practiced, since the troupe had existed long before Brumm had joined. Then again, they did add new acts now and then, so it wasn't too surprising.

Once Grimm was done with his current act, Brumm made himself known, "Hello Master." He called out, walking out from behind the curtains.

Grimm hears him and turns his head menacingly. Most would be scared by that, but Brumm knew that was just how Grimm moved, whether he meant to or not.

"Ah, hello Brumm, what brings you here?" Grimm flashed his usual grin.

"Is there anything that needs to be prepared before our next performance?"

Grimm hummed in thought for a bit, "No, everything is in order. All that's needed is an audience, but that will come on its own." He chuckled, grin growing a bit.

Brumm nodded, "As they always do, without fail." It was true too, no matter how small a kingdom they went to, there was always a full house to watch them. It was good for the Nightmare heart, even if it did put a little more pressure on the troupe to put on a good show. They always did though, so it wasn't too much of a worry.

"We should add more seating, to accommodate a larger crowd." Grimm turned and looked around at the rows of seats surrounding them, thinking of ways to fit more bugs in, "Perhaps balcony seating would be possible."

"I'll look into that for you, Master." Brumm turned to leave, only taking a few steps before Grimm moved in front of him seamlessly, "Master?"

"I'd like to ask you for a small favour, if I may. Could you teach me how to play that?" He pointed over Brumm's shoulder at his accordion, to the surprise of the other.

"You want me to teach you how to play the accordion Master?" He felt the need to make sure he had heard that correctly, and when Grimm nodded, he asked, "Why?" Grimm had never shown much interest in learning his instrument before, so why now?

Grimm sighed, clearly tired, "Being a Troupe master is stressful. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy what I do, but even I need a break, and so I've decided to try and find a hobby to help me unwind." Ah, that made sense. Brumm has been saying to himself how Grimm had seemed off for a while. Brumm nodded in understanding, to which Grimm grinned a bit, "At your room, if we could."

"Of course, Master, just let me tidy it up a bit first before you enter." Brumm led Grimm to his tent, thinking all the while about what songs he would teach Grimm first. Since he was just learning, something simple to start with would be good.

Upon arriving at his tent, Brumm went in and tidied up a bit. His tent wasn't messy, just a little disorganized from having set up yesterday, "You can come in, Master." To which the troupe master did, going over to the small couch in Brumm's tent and sitting down. Brumm sat down beside him, holding his accordion.

He started by showing Grimm how the accordion worked, and played a short, simple song before handing it to Grimm and letting him try. The two sat there, Grimm playing while Brumm taught him patiently. After what felt like hours, Grimm suddenly stopped playing, catching Brumm's attention, "Is something wrong, Master?"

Grimm put the accordion down on his lap, "Actually, I was going to ask you that. You seem nervous, is something the matter?" He chuckled and smirked, "Is my very presence making you anxious?"

"N-No Master, not at all!" Brumm explained, a little too quick for his own liking, "I care about you, a-and the rest of the troupe too of course."

"Relax, Brumm, I only meant to tease," The Troupe master smiled, "But still, I am glad to hear you feel that way." That smile made Brumm's heart beat a bit faster in his chest, but he tried to ignore it.

The musician hummed, "I'm glad that pleases you, Master, I know how much the troupe means to you. You always take care of us and go out of your way to make sure we have everything we need."

Grimm smiled and chuckled, "I'm just doing my job is all. It is part of my duties to keep my troupe in top shape after all."

"Well, I think you're doing a good job of it, Master." Brumm blushed a little under his mask as he said this, Grimm's smile just did that to him.

The troupe master smiled more and was about to say something, when he suddenly seemed to freeze in place for a moment before standing, "The Nightmare Heart calls me forth." With that, Grimm vanished with a snap of his fingers and a small puff of smoke.

Brumm sighed softly and frowned, but couldn't fault Grimm for leaving as he did. The Heart ruled over their actions, able to overpower any of their actions at anytime. Fortunately it didn't do this often, but Grimm was the most affected by it as his connection to the Heart was the strongest. It made sense, since Grimm was created by it for the purpose of keeping it alive.

The musician moved to lie down and sleep, when he suddenly remembered that it was his turn to clean the stage. He sighed, but reluctantly got up, heading to the stage and grabbing the broom they kept there.

He swept around the stage, between the seats, and the backstage too. Brumm sighed, tired, as he stood in the centre of the stage, all alone in the normally crowded tent. There wasn't even any grimmkin around either for once. Brumm wasn't used to the stage being so quiet, but it was kind of nice. He looked at the broom, letting his imagination loose as he closed his eyes, imagining that instead of a broom, he was holding Grimm.

*Grimm smiled as he placed a hand on Brumm's shoulder, and the two made their way to centre stage. Brumm smiled up at him from behind his mask, pulling the troupe master in close as he spun him around.*

The dance continued for what felt like a long time, causing Brumm to forget the world around him for a bit. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was still on the stage, and that he had an audience.

Grimm was staring at him in astonishment, standing just a few feet away from him. Brumm didn't have time to think of what to say before the troupe master bridged the gap between them, standing in front of the musician, "I didn't know that you were such a talented dancer. Why have you never told me of such?"

Brumm blushed a bit under his mask, looking down and away, "Mrmm, well, I don't like being in front of crowds, I greatly prefer being backstage and helping the show by playing my accordion..."

"Well then, may I ask for a dance~?" Brumm looked up, greeted by Grimm holding out a hand to him, with a grin on his face.

"I-I…!" Brumm felt a bit nervous about it. He had never danced in front of anyone, let alone his master! What if he made a fool of himself, or someone walked in on them?

"It's just us here, no need to be afraid~" Grimm's grin turned to a smile, which helped Brumm to relax a bit, even if he still felt somewhat nervous. Grimm snapped his fingers and a small band appeared to play for them. Taking a deep breath though, Brumm took Grimm's hand, and with a bow the two started dancing.

The two moved together fluidly, as if they were one being. It would have surprised Brumm how well they melded together if he wasn’t so enthralled by Grimm. The troupe master pulled Brumm in close, spinning him out before pulling him back in. In turn Brumm wrapped his arms around Grimm’s waist and dipped him. They continued to move and dance together until the song ended, with them holding each other close, panting softly from the intensity of it. Grimm’s eyes were locked on Brumm’s, just staring at each other for a bit before smiling. With a snap of the troupe master’s fingers, the band disappeared, and as soon as they were gone Grimm grabbed Brumm’s mask and pulled it off, swiftly moving in to kiss him.

It felt like time stopped at that moment, and if it wasn't controlled by the Nightmare heart Brumm would've sworn that his heart stopped at that moment. Brumm froze in place, neither pulling away or returning the kiss, for a minute before his senses finally came back to him, causing the musician to push Grimm away from him. Not hard enough to put much space between them, but enough to cause the troupe master to drop Brumm's mask.

"U-Um…!" Brumm quickly picked up his mask as he made his way out of the tent, catching a glance of Grimm's smug smile as he did.

Even as Brumm returned to his tent, he still couldn't fully comprehend what had just happened. He felt like he had just floated to his room, and was only conscious of himself lying down to get some rest.

*Brumm was back at the stage, standing centre stage with Grimm as an audience filled the seats. Music started to play, and Grimm invited Brumm to dance. Despite the audience, the musician took the troupe master's hand and the two begin to move as one. Their dance was the same as when they were awake, and ended in the same manner, holding each other close and panting from the intensity of it.*

*Grimm leaned in and whispered, "It's time~"*

Brumm slowly woke up, rubbing his eyes as the world came into focus. Divine was standing next to his bed, causing the musician to jump a little in surprise, "O-Oh, good morning Divine." He yawned.

"Good morning Brumm, our Master requests to perform a ritual with you." Divine sighed, and Brumm didn't miss the tone in her voice. Was she… envious? Why? Either way, if Grimm wanted to see him then he had to get going.

Following Grimm's orders, Brumm made his way to the Troupe Master's tent, taking a deep breath before entering and being greeted by an unusual sight. The room is dimly lit by a handful of candles instead of being fully illuminated by torches, and Grimm himself was lying on a plush bed, pillows laying around it.

Brumm frowned slightly in confusion at the sight in front of him. Grimm slept upside down, he’d seen him do so multiple times, so why was there a bed in his tent, and what was with the atmosphere that Grimm had clearly set up? It was almost as if…

Grimm grinned as the realization came to Brumm that this wasn’t any ordinary ritual. This was…

A *mating* ritual…

“G-Grimm, what is…?” Brumm felt his face turning red under his mask as Grimm’s grin grew wider, “U-Uh… M-Master…? What i-is this for?”

“Brumm, as you know, I've been... alone, for a long time. Yes, I have the troupe, and they're all important to me, but there's no one that I can call solely my own. You have been so loyal, always staying by my side. I want to reward you for that~”

The musician, startled and confused by all of this, took a small step back, “M-Master, y-you’re s-saying that…” He shook his head, “No, this is not real, y-you’re joking Master… Right?” Brumm gave a nervous chuckle, struggling to grasp the situation that was happening. Was Grimm really saying all of this?

The taller bug sat up in his bed, looking at Brumm, “No, this isn't a joke, my musician~ I want you to be with me, more than just master and servant.” Grimm held out his hand to Brumm, inviting him forward with more than just his words, “Won't you keep me company in this bed~?”

Brumm felt so overwhelmed, “M-Master, I… Uh…” He tried to move backwards again. He didn’t want to disobey Grimm, but he didn’t want to say yes either… Grimm was his master, b-but this was…!

The silence dragged on for a moment, before Grimm lowered his hand with an uncharacteristic frown, “I’m… I’m doing this wrong, aren’t I?” He sighed, “I’m sorry, I’m not used to being the one to ask for things like t-this…”

“It-It’s okay, Master… I just…” Brumm sighed and mumbled under his breath, “I love you too…” If he was being honest with himself, the musician had loved the troupe master for a long time, but, saying it was much harder than just admiring Grimm from afar. Staying at Grimm’s side, a loyal member of the troupe, was enough for him.

However, that wasn’t enough for Grimm, “Brumm? What… What did you just say…?” He leaned forward, hope forming on his face as he did.

In response, Brumm’s face burned red and his voice quickened, “N-Nothing, m-master! I-I didn't say anything else!”

“Is that so…?” Brumm’s quick response was disheartening. Grimm had hoped for a different response… He moved back, frowning and looking away with a hand going to his mouth, covering it as he thought. Had he misread Brumm? Had he just driven a wedge between them? Would Brumm… Would Brumm ever want to talk to him after this…?

Brumm felt his chest hurt at how Grimm looked, confused and worried, *"Mrm… I can't take this anymore…"* he thought to himself, before raising his tone so Grimm could hear him, "M-Master… MasterIloveyou!"

At that Grimm looked at Brumm in surprise, "W-What? You love me? B-Brumm I…" he smiled, a blush forming on his face, "I love you too…!"

"Oh, master…" The musician felt instant relief wash over him as he made his way to Grimm and hugged him tightly, with Grimm returning the embrace, "I wanted to say that for a very long time…"

"I wish you had said it sooner, I have felt the same for a long time as well." Grimm chuckled a bit to himself. He could leave an audience of dozens in complete awe, or sway their emotions however he wanted them to feel, and yet they both had so much trouble saying something so simple to just one bug…

"Mrmm~ Master…" Brumm pulled Grimm in closer to him, whispering to the troupe master, "I wanted to do it as well~"

A blush formed on Grimm’s face as he pulled Brumm onto the bed, so that the musician was on top of him, “Let’s not waste any more time then, my Brumm~” He grinned and ran a hand over the musician’s cheek.

Brumm leaned into his touch and chuckled, lifting his mask up to show Grimm his loving smile, “With pleasure, my master~” He leaned down and kissed him deeply and lovingly with a happy hum. Grimm returned the kiss with just as much love as he wrapped his arms around the musician’s neck. Brumm’s hands slid down his sides, caressing them as they made their way down to the troupe master’s hips, Grimm moaning the musician's name into their kiss.

"Mrmm~ I've wanted to do this for a long time~" Brumm moved a hand closer to the other bug's crotch, finding and gently rubbing his slit, the thin line that blended in with the rest of the troupe master's carapace.

A pleasure hum came from Grimm as he ran his hands down Brumm's back, "Heheh, I can't count how many times I've had thoughts of being with you~"

"Mrm~ I love you~" Brumm gently pushed a finger into the troupe master, thrusting it before wiggling it around to help him loosen up and relax.

"Mmmmm~ I love you too~" Grimm pushed his hips down on Brumm's finger in anticipation for the main act. Brumm smiled lovingly as he added another finger, pushing them in deeper as he felt his cock harden and come out of its hiding place. Grimm moaned as Brumm stretched him out when he looked down and saw the other's cock. He licked his lips and reached down, stroking Brumm's arousal. It felt heavy in his hand, causing Grimm to blush more at the thought of it inside him.

"Mrmmm~ I want you~" Brumm pulled his fingers out and moved between Grimm's legs, adjusting himself so his cock was lined up with Grimm's slit, "May I~?"

Grimm nodded, "Just be gentle, it's been a long time since I've done this~" now that he thought about it, the last time he'd had sex was before the last ritual. Memories and his consciousness carried over to each new body, but physical experience didn't, technically making Grimm a virgin. Heh, now there's a funny thought, he mused to himself.

As Grimm was thinking this, Brumm moved closer and started rubbing his cock against the troupe Master's slit teasingly. Grimm moaned softly as a pleasurable shudder went down his spine, "Brumm~ Please~"

"If you insist, my Master~" The musician held Grimm's hips firmly as he started to gently push inside. He moaned softly, he could tell that Grimm was going to be tight even before getting in and it just aroused him even more. For his part, Grimm reflexively tensed up at first, but did his best to relax after his initial reaction. Brumm kept pushing until he felt Grimm's warmth surround him, moaning, "Master~"

Grimm moaned softly as he felt Brumm inside of him, smiling up at Brumm lovingly, "Please, call me by my name~"

"Okay, my Grimm~" Brumm smiled back lovingly before moving his hips back and thrusting in deeper. Grimm moaned and wrapped his arms around Brumm's neck, pressing against him as much as he could. Brumm shuddered in pleasure as he started to move faster, moaning and wrapping his arms around Grimm to keep him close, "Grimm~"

"Brumm~" Grimm leaned up and kissed him deeply and lovingly. Brumm returned the kiss with the same enthusiasm, moaning into the kiss as he started to push in deeper and faster.

He flinched a little as the musician felt his love's nails dig into his back, but if anything that only spurred him on more, "Mrmm~ My Grimm~! I-I'm~" Brumm gripped Grimm's hips tightly before thrusting in fully, cumming hard and deep inside of Grimm with a loud moan. Feeling Brumm filling him pushed Grimm over the edge, causing the troupe master to find his own release, which hit the musician's stomach from the force of it.

The two stared at each other for a bit, panting and smiling lovingly. However, they both knew they weren't done just yet, "Mrmm~ I....~ I want more, my Grimm~ Take over me~"

"With pleasure~"

Brumm gently pulled out of Grimm and flipped them over, pulling Grimm on top of him, "Please~ Take me like you want me~"

"I've been wanting you for so long, my Brumm~" Grimm leaned down, kissing the musician deeply while caressing his sides. Brumm returned the kiss as he wrapped his arms around Grimm to hold him close. Grimm caressed Brumm lovingly, his hands going lower as his cock emerged from his slit. It was the same red as the rest of Grimm's body, and long as well.

Brumm moaned softly, holding onto Grimm a bit tighter, "Mrmmm~ Grimm, please~ I want it now~

Grimm chuckled, "Looks like neither of us are patient right now~" he pressed his cock against Brumm's slit, rubbing against him and letting the musician feel his arousal.

"Mrmm~ Indeed~" to Grimm's surprise Brumm gripped his hips and pulled him forward, causing the troupe master to penetrate him with a mutual gasp as Grimm pushed into him deeply, "Please, more~"

Grimm leaned forward and kissed Brumm deeply as he started thrusting slow and deep. The musician moaned into the kiss as he wrapped his arms around Grimm and held him close. The performer did the same, pulling Brumm's hips against his own as he started to move harder and faster.

The two were left moaning and holding onto each other tightly, kissing and just being as close to one another as they possibly could while Grimm thrust in as deep as he could. It wasn't too much longer until the two were cumming, crying out in pleasure as Grimm filled the musician, and Brumm splattered the performer's chest. The pair were left panting as they came down from their high, staring at each other lovingly.

Grimm gently pulled out before resting his head on Brumm's chest, Brumm cuddling the troupe master close to him with a soft smile, "I love you, my Grimm~"

Grimm cuddled into him with a smile of his own, "I love you too, my Brumm~ And with that, the ritual is complete~" with a snap of his fingers, the two were sent to sleep in each other's arms.


	2. A Revisit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I'm sorry this took so long. A lot has been happening lately, so my drive to write anything took a real beating. My co-writer helped me get my butt in gear though, so here's chapter 2 for your reading pleasure!

As he fell asleep, Brumm heard a soft whisper, “Good night, my dear musician~”

Brumm opened his eyes again, in a completely different setting now. Above him were two unfamiliar figures, looking at him adoringly. He couldn’t quite make out their faces, but for some reason it didn’t bother him as much as it should. One leaned against the other, speaking softly, “We’ll call him… Nymm~”

Before he could do or say anything, however, Brumm woke up back in Grimm's tent, laying next to a still sleeping Grimm.

The musician frowned to himself, "Those odd figures… Was that really a dream? It must have been, what else could it be…?" Brumm muttered to no one but himself. Being careful to not disturb Grimm, he sat up and took a deep breath, trying to dismiss it as just a part of his obscure dreams. After a bit, the musician stood and cleaned himself up. The thought has still in his head though, and he just couldn't shake it, "That wasn't a dream, was it? It felt like a… memory. Is it even mine?"

He looked over at the still sleeping troupe master. Brumm wants to ask him about it, but after last night he decided to let him sleep, "I can ask him what he thinks of this later…"

Leaving Grimm to sleep for a while longer, Brumm heads to the stage to see how the Grimmkins are doing with setting up for that night's show. One of the novices flew over to Brumm, asking where Grimm was. The Grimmkin couldn't really speak, but their connection to the Heart let Brumm understand them.

"He's still asleep, he was very tired last night." He could feel his cheeks heat up just thinking about last night. He was glad that his mask hid it, the novices would've never let him live it down. Fortunately, the novice didn't question it, going back to what it was doing before. However, after a while of helping the others set up, Brumm started to wonder if Grimm was really still asleep at this point and decided to go back to his tent to check up on him.

As he walked towards the tent, Brumm felt like something was off. He couldn’t put it into words, but it was like there was some kind of force tugging at something in the back of his mind. The musician hummed in thought for a moment, before shaking his head as he reached the tent and walked inside. Waiting for him, sitting on the edge of the bed, was Grimm, stretching out his tired limbs. He notices Brumm and smiles in greeting, “Hello, my musician~ Did you sleep well?”

Brumm returned the smile with a nod, “I did, Master. What about you?”

“I slept well, though after last night I decided to sleep a bit longer than usual~” Grimm chuckled as Brumm blushed a bit under his mask, tilting his head down towards the floor, “Hm, is something the matter?”

The musician sighed softly before looking up, telling Grimm about his strange dream, “What do you think it is?”

Grimm nodded, tilting his head to the side, “Hmm… tell me more, try to describe it better.”

“I… I can't. All I can say is that the figures’ faces had a close resemblance to mine.” He frowned at the thought, still so confused over the whole situation.

“Well, when someone is recruited into the troupe, the Nightmare Heart will remove certain memories. Those memories will always be ones that are either traumatic, or ones that would cause that member to rebel for some reason.” Grimm stood up, a hand on his hip while the other went to his chin, scratching it, “However, I don’t know why the Heart would remove memories about your family. Usually it leaves those-”

“Wait, I had a family?” Brumm interrupted, “Why don’t I remember them? W-Why haven’t we gone to look for them, what if they’re in danger, or worse?!”

Grimm frowned a bit, putting his hands on Brumm’s shoulders as the musician started freaking out, “Brumm, breath. Everything is fine, we’ll find out what’s going on, but I need you to calm down, alright?

The musician looked up at the troupe master, nodding as he took a few deep breaths, “O-Okay, okay, I’m alright…” He looked up at the troupe master with a hopeful look, “Grimm, could we… could we leave the realm, so I can go find them? My family, that is…”

Grimm frowned slightly, “Brumm, I want to help you, really I do, but you know that we are bound to this realm, and we cannot leave unless the Heart allows us to. Unless your request has some sort of benefit to either the troupe or the Heart, I doubt that it will let us go and look for your family…”

“I… I understand…” Brumm nodded, but just as he turned to leave Grimm spoke up again.

“Although… we could visit that place. If I could just persuade the Nightmare Heart to let us do that… Give me a few minutes to talk to the Heart, I’ll see what I can do.” The taller bug made his way out of the tent, heading to the Nightmare Heart’s tent to try and convince it.

While waiting for Grimm to get an answer, Brumm made his way back to the stage, his mind distracted with thoughts of his strange dream. He sat down on the ground in the center of the stage, his legs crossed as he continued to think it over. It wasn’t until one of the novices plopped down onto his lap that Brumm noticed there was a small group of the mischievous little performers in front of him, “Mrm? What is it? What do you all want?”

One of the novices pointed to Brumm’s accordion, giving him the closest thing to puppy-dog eyes that a novice could, “Do you… want me to play for you?” He asked reluctantly. The novice nodded, the others pointing to the accordion as well. Brumm sighed, pulling the instrument off of his back, "Really? After all the numerous times of being an inconvenience toward me, you all request me to play a piece?" The novices nodded, sitting down in a semi-circle in front of him.

The musician sighed, but smiled softly under his mask. Yes, the novices could be a nuisance at times, and they were undoubtedly troublemakers, but Brumm still cares for them. They were all bound to the Heart, and in that way, they were all family. It was easier to forgive their antics if he thought of them like toddlers, or little kids anyway. With a quiet chuckle at the thought, the musician started playing Scarlet’s lullaby, a favourite of his. He could feel himself relaxing, the tension in his shoulders that Brumm didn’t always notice gradually fading away as he continued playing. By the end of the song, he felt much more relaxed, though now he was surrounded by a group of sleeping novices, all curled up with some cuddling into each other for warmth.

A chuckle came from behind Brumm, “If I recall correctly, this is a place for performing and practicing, not for naps.” Grimm walked over, gently picking up the novice that Brumm had on his lap and petting it’s head. The novice let out a quiet purr, causing Grimm to smile more.

The musician stood up, turning to face Grimm and putting his accordion on his back, “Welcome back, Master, did your talk with the Heart go well?”

“It did, but let's go back to my tent to talk about it so we don’t wake my kin. It’s rare to see them being so peaceful after all.” He carefully placed the novice in his arms down with the others, snapping his fingers. A blanket and several pillows appeared, covering the novices who moved closer together to get more comfortable, sharing the pillows and blanket. This caused the troupe master and the musician to smile more at the adorable sight, before quietly leaving to talk in private.

When they reached Grimm’s tent, the taller bug closed the tent entrance behind them before turning to Brumm, who had wandered to the middle of the room, “I have great news, Brumm. The Heart has given us permission to enter the Memory Archive.” He announced with a smile.

Brumm frowned slightly in confusion, “Well, that’s good, but what is the Memory archive?”

“It is where all of our memories are stored, like books of our lives. Everything we’ve been through, all of our previous thoughts and experiences are stored there. The Nightmare Heart even keeps a copy of the memories that it has removed from troupe members.” Grimm explained with a bit of dramatic flair, as expected of him really, “There we shall find the answer to what your dream was about.”

The musician’s face lit up under his mask, but before he could respond, Grimm continued, “However, there is one condition that has been set for this visit. It seems that the Heart was a… fan, of our previous ‘performance’ and would like an encore as it were. Is this alright with you?”

It took a second for what Grimm said to register in Brumm’s head, and when it did he could feel his face grow red under his mask. He cleared his throat, nodding slightly, “Y-Yes, that is fine. I-I’m good with this plan.” Even as he said that, he still felt nervous about the whole ordeal. Not the having sex with Grimm part, but about what would happen if that dream did turn out to be a memory… 

Grimm noticed the musician’s hesitation and frowned a bit, sitting on the edge of the bed and inviting Brumm to join him by patting the spot next to him. Brumm joined him on the bed, where the troupe master wrapped an arm around him comfortingly, “Something is bothering you, can you tell me what it is? Are you having second thoughts about going through with this plan?”

Brumm opened his mouth, then sighed and looked down, “No, I do want to do this, it’s just… I’m worried, about what we’ll find in the Memory Archive. About what I’ll find in the Memory Archive…” He frowned behind his mask, “What if… What if it’s more than a dream, what if it is really a memory?”

“If it is, then I’m sure there is a reason for why you don’t remember it, my dear.” Grimm smiled reassuringly, leaning in and kissing Brumm’s cheek softly, “And whatever that reason is, I’ll be here for you.”

The shorter bug smiled softly under his mask, looking up at Grimm lovingly, “Thank you, my Grimm.” He took a deep breath, “I'm ready now. Whatever I see there, I won’t let it change who I am, I promise.”

Grimm smiled lovingly at his mate, “I’m glad to hear it. Now, shall we start the ritual~?” His smile turned to a bit of a grin.

“Wait, who is going to clean our mess?”

“Oh~ You know the Heart finds a way~” Grimm chuckles as his grin gets wider, getting closer to Brumm, wrapping his arms around his waist as Brumm in turn wrapped his arms around Grimm’s neck.

“In that case, shall we get started~?” Brumm asked, taking off his mask and leaning up to kiss Grimm.

Grimm grinned, “We shall~” He leaned in, kissing Brumm deeply.

“My Grimm~” Brumm deepened the kiss, relaxing as Grimm caressed him all over, laying the musician down on the bed as Grimm climbed on top of him. Brumm let out a soft moan, shuddering a bit in pleasure as the two shared a loving smile at one another.

Grimm leaned in close, nipping and kissing his mate’s neck, “I love you, my dear musician~”

“I love you too, my master~” Brumm groaned and squirmed slightly. He reached a hand to Grimm’s head, petting him softly. The troupe master purred happily at that, biting a bit harder as the two relaxed and let go of their worries for the time being. What happened after this moment, they would deal with it then, but for now they were enjoying each other’s bodies in only the way that two beings who had known each other for as long as they had possibly could.

Brumm squirmed as he felt his master’s teeth sink into his flesh, not hard enough to break it, but enough to leave a mark for sure. Grimm licked his lips as he looked up at the musician’s blushing face, “You’re so delicious~” He purred lustfully.

“And you look wonderful, my Grimm~” Brumm returned the lustful gaze, even as he felt his body heating up more. Grimm leaned up, their lips meeting in another passionate kiss. It was almost enough to distract Brumm completely, if it weren’t for the hardness he felt pressing against him. He reached down, wrapping his hand around Grimm’s cock and gently stroking it, “So hot~ I want to feel it inside me~”

“Mmm~ And you will, my Brumm~” Grimm chuckled, “If I could, I’d fill you to the point that you couldn’t move, would you like that~?”

The thought sent a shiver of arousal through Brumm’s body, “I’d love that~” He leaned up, whispering against Grimm’s neck, “Fill me until you’re empty~”

“With pleasure~” The troupe master adjusted their position, pressing his dick against Brumm’s slit, before pushing into him, drawing forth a moan from both bugs.

Brumm wrapped his legs around Grimm’s waist, trying to pull him in deeper, “More~ Push it into me more~”

“My Brumm~” Grimm obliged to his request, pushing into Brumm deeper before thrusting slowly and deep, enjoying and savouring how his mate wrapped around him, pulling him in deeper when Grimm pushed in, and tightening around him when Grimm moved back.

“So warm, so good~ Keep going~” Brumm wiggled his hips a bit to let Grimm get in deeper, groaning loudly in pleasure. Each time Grimm moved, it felt like there were small sparks going off in his head, lighting up his nerves and making them even more sensitive than they already were. Grimm wrapped his arms around Brumm tightly, holding the musician against him as he started thrusting faster, and in turn Brumm rocked his hips to make both of them feel better. Grimm kissed Brumm deeply, shoving his tongue into Brumm's mouth, which the musician happily returned, his tongue curling around Grimm’s as their breath combined into one with a moan. Grimm gripped Brumm’s hips, pulling him down fully with a gasp as their hips met, before moaning and thrusting harder and faster, fully penetrating his mate with each movement.

“Grimm~! Grimm, I-I…~!” Brumm held onto Grimm tighter, feeling like there was a coil tensing up inside of him as Grimm’s thrusts started to get slightly more erratic.

Grimm moaned, leaning in and speaking against Brumm’s neck, “Cum for me, my Brumm~ Cum with me~” His hands moved to caress the musician’s body as he angled his thrusts ever so slightly, just enough to hit that spot inside of Brumm which caused lights to flash in his eyes.

Brumm could no longer control his voice, crying out each time Grimm hit his sweet spot, the coil inside of him growing tighter and tighter until he felt like he was going to burst, “G-Grimm~! I love you so much~!”

“I love you too~!” Grimm thrust in fully, crying out as he came, filling Brumm and sending him over the edge as well. Brumm groaned in pleasure as he climaxed, shooting off onto Grimm's stomach. The two lovers panted, the troupe master gently pulling out before lying down next to Brumm, raising a shaking hand up, "Take us to where we can remember... Oh, and Brumm... follow my little self~” Without any hesitation Grimm snapped his fingers, sending the two of them to sleep.

Just as soon as he fell asleep, Brumm woke up again, now in a dark, empty place. There’s one of the Troupe’s torches just within his line of sight, and as he holds it the torch lights up, illuminating a path that leads to a set of red curtains. He took a moment to glance around, before following the track to them, all the while wondering where Grimm was. Brumm reached the curtains, taking a look back to see if maybe he was just behind him, sighing when he didn’t see Grimm, “Where are you…?” He walked through the curtains, pausing for a moment in surprise at the sight in front of him.

It was a hallway that seemed to stretch on for eternity, with countless doors and curtains on each side. There was a tent above him, with torches hanging from it to illuminate the path, “Where in the Heart’s name am I?” he glanced around, trying to take in what he was seeing.

“You’re in the Memory Archive!” A puff of smoke appeared in front of Brumm, and when it cleared, there was Grimm… A much younger version of Grimm, that was. They looked like how Grimm did when going through the ritual, around the halfway point between Grimmchild and fully grown. He didn’t have his cloak, and his tail still remained, being just short of dragging on the ground. Grimm’s face also retained some of it’s baby-like features, being softer and rounder than it is when he’s fully grown.

Brumm looked at the child in front of him in confusion and surprise, “Grimm…? Is that you…?” It was hard to believe looking at them.

The little Grimm giggled, “Don’t be silly! I’m not the Grimm that you’re looking for, but don’t worry, I can guide you to him, just follow me.” He turned around, tail swishing happily as Brumm’s guide started walking down the hallway, the musician following behind him.

“May I ask about this… place?” Brumm looked around, holding the torch in his hand tightly while making sure to stay close to his guide.

“Sure, go ahead. This is your first time here, so ask away.” The little Grimm smiled back at Brumm.

“Are you a part of Grimm, or just some kind of keeper for this place?”

“Hmmm, a little of both. I’m a part of Grimm that he left here, so I like to look around and watch the memories sometimes.”

“Mrmm, okay, but what about the curtains and the doors?”

“Each of them holds a different memory. A door has a normal memory behind it, but the curtains hold special memories. The more vibrant the colour, the more precious that memory is.” The small guide explained, “On the left are your memories, and Grimm’s memories are on the right. You two have a lot of memories together, so it’s easier to keep them next to each other.”

Brumm hummed in astonishment, “Interesting…”

The two continued to walk along the hallway, until the little Grimm abruptly stopped, nearly causing Brumm to bump into him before pointing to a curtain, the most vibrant shade of red that the musician had ever seen in his life, “There... You should be able to meet him in there.”

“Mrmm… are you sure?” Brumm walked closer to the curtain, looking it over. Whatever the memory behind it was, it must have been important.

The little Grimm nodded, “Oh, please heed my warning: Do not lose the torch, if you do, you will lose your path to him.” Brumm nodded, before walking through the curtain. Inside was nothing but darkness, but suddenly the torch became brighter, illuminating a path before him. As the musician followed it, the Troupe’s distinct colour started to replace the darkness.

Eventually, Brumm could see a tall figure standing in the distance. He walked faster towards it, “Grimm, is that you?” He asked as he approached them.

“Indeed~” Grimm turned around, smiling softly at Brumm, “Hello, my dear Brumm~” Delighted, and a bit relieved, Brumm ran the rest of the way, hugging Grimm tightly as soon as he was close enough. Grimm smiled more, hugging Brumm back just as tightly.

Brumm looked up at Grimm, “I’m glad I found you so easily, I was worried I’d get lost.”

“Heheh, don’t worry, I wouldn’t let that happen to you~” Grimm leaned down, lifting up the musician’s mask a bit and planting a soft kiss on Brumm’s lips. Brumm smiled softly, returning the kiss before the two pulled apart, “Come along, there is much to see.” Grimm held the musician’s hand, and the two continued down the path as the surrounding area slowly brightened up, with things starting to materialize around them.

Brumm looked around in slight confusion and awe, “Mrm… Grimm, what is happening?”

"Well, everything is appearing because you are starting to remember."

“I’m sorry, but… I don’t recall any of this.” Brumm frowned behind his mask as he looked around at the scene unfolding around them.

Grimm stopped suddenly, pulling Brumm into a bush with him, “Give me the torch. We have already found each other, and I don't plan on going anywhere without you." Grimm grinned joyfully.

Brumm handed the torch over to Grimm, poking his head out of the bush. There isn’t much there, except for a small bug sitting on a rock by himself, with small bushes around him.

Grimm peeked out as well, "Do you remember now? This is where we first met." He continued whispering to Brumm, a soft smile forming, "You were playing your accordion so nicely that it caught my attention. Take a look.”

The two watched closely as the memory played out. The small bug was playing his accordion, and while his music was good, the child was clearly unhappy. He sighed, completely unaware of the small Grimmchild landing in a bush nearby. The future troupe master poked his head out of the bush, before jumping out of it with a ‘nyah~!’ and surprising the other bug.

“Is… Is that really us?” Brumm asked in wonder.

Grimm smiled sweetly, nodding, “Uh-huh.” He chuckled, “I didn’t mean to startle you, I thought you heard me hiding in those bushes.”

They continued watching and listening to their past selves. Watching them be happy, Grimm listening to Nymm’s music, Nymm being amazed by Grimm’s fire powers, and just being happy together.

A smile grew on Brumm’s face as he enjoyed the sight of their younger selves, “We look… So happy.” He held Grimm’s hand tenderly.

“We still are, my Brumm~” Grimm smiled at him lovingly, holding his hand and intertwining their fingers.

After a while, their younger selves left, prompting Grimm to step out from behind the bush with Brumm following behind. The Troupe master walked over to the rock and stopped in front of it. He hummed, smiling softly at the memory, before raising his hand and snapping his fingers, causing a small flame at his fingertips.

“Mrm, Grimm, what are you doing?” Without replying, Grimm flicked the little fire off his fingers, landing on Nymm’s trail, which lit up and showed the way he went.

“Perhaps this could lead us somewhere… Somewhere you lived, before all of this.” Grimm moved to follow Nymm’s trail, with Brumm following close behind, before stopping after a while.

Grimm noticed this, stopping and looking back, “Brumm?” He turned and walked back to him, “Is something the matter, my dear?”

Brumm frowned behind his mask, his words catching in his throat as he looked down at the ground, “I-I… It’s j-just…”

Grimm frowned slightly, kneeling a bit and cupping Brumm’s cheeks, “Brumm, please, talk to me. What’s wrong my love?”

"I-I'm fine, Grimm. I just... I..." Brumm stepped back, out of Grimm’s hold as he tried to gather his thoughts. He just felt so… So…

Grimm could see how stressed his Brumm was, moving in to hold him tightly, “Shh, it’s okay, my dear, please calm down.” He gently rubbed the musician’s back, kissing his cheek softly.

Brumm hesitated slightly, before wrapping his arms around Grimm and holding onto him, “I-I’m sorry, my Grimm,” He leaned against the other’s shoulder, “No matter how much I try to reassure myself, even though I want to do this, I-I… I’m still… scared… of what I’ll learn. What if my family is…?” He held onto Grimm tighter, seeking the comfort that the other was offering.

Grimm frowned, “Do you still want to proceed? If you don’t, we can go back to our tent, and we can either forget about this or try again later, if you’d like.” He caressed Brumm’s cheek softly.

He leaned into Grimm’s hand, taking the chance to calm down a bit, before nodding, “I-I want to continue. I… I want to know, about my family.” Grimm nodded in response and stood up, holding Brumm’s hand as they continued down the path.

Soon enough, they arrived at a small, wooden hut. There was a single window by the front door where they could look inside. Brumm wondered, was that his home? Did he live here before joining the troupe? The two walked closer, approaching the window and looking inside. The inside of the house looked fairly simple. There was a small table with three chairs at it, a kitchen area, and a small sitting area with a rug in the middle of the floor. There was a door which Brumm assumed lead to the bedroom or bathroom, but as it was closed he couldn’t be sure.

Before Brumm could ask Grimm what he thought of this, two bugs came out of the door, which did indeed lead to a bedroom, and judging from their tone they were fighting. Brumm couldn’t make out their words, but both were just getting louder. It sounded like clashing music, sour notes just filling the air and nearly overwhelming the musician with pain in his ears.

He turned to look at Grimm, “Grimm, are you seeing thi-?” Brumm stopped, as Grimm had disappeared, “Grimm, where are you?!” he looked around, the crashing music growing louder and louder, until suddenly it stopped and Brumm woke up with a start.

The musician shot up, panting slightly as he looked around to orient himself again. He was back in Grimm’s tent, sitting on the bed wide awake now. Sitting on the other side, facing away from him, was Grimm, gripping the edge of the mattress tightly. Brumm had so many thoughts in his head, so many questions, but the first that came to mind was, “Who… Who were they? Why were they fighting?”

When Grimm didn’t respond, Brumm frowned and moved to sit beside him, and was surprised by the look on Grimm’s face. He almost looked frightened, but why?

“My Grimm, what’s wrong? What happened back there?” Still no response from Grimm, who just gripped the bed tighter.

Brumm frowned more, “Why aren’t you saying anything?!”

“BECAUSE THE HEART KNEW DAMNIT!” Grimm finally shouted, the flames of the torches growing in agitation in response.

Both of them were silent for a while, Grimm trying to calm himself down, while Brumm was just in shock. He had never seen Grimm react like that before, especially towards him…

“W-What…? G-Grimm, what do you mean…?” Brumm asked in a quiet, scared tone.

Having calmed down a bit, Grimm sighed as the flames returned to normal, “The… The Heart knew, about your situation… about your family.” He paused, thinking carefully about his words, “When we touched the Heart, it told us everything about the Troupe. However, the Heart also showed me… your bitter memories.” He took a deep breath, frowning down at the floor.

Brumm frowned, holding one of Grimm’s hands in both of his own, “Please, tell me more. I want to know, no matter how painful it might be…”

The Troupe master looked at his musician for a moment before continuing, “I saw the memories. Your parents weren’t exactly… ready for you. That is why you saw them as such earlier, they were arguing about… about you…” Grimm’s frown grew, “After seeing that, and the pain it caused you, I asked the Heart if it could remove that memory, and any others like it. Seeing you so sad, and knowing that it would hurt you for eternity to remember, I decided it would be best if you simply… didn’t, anymore.” He looked at Brumm pleadingly, “I’m sorry, I know it was not my decision to make, but I couldn’t stand by when you were so miserable. I’m sorry for keeping this a secret from you…”

Brumm looked down at the floor, taking a moment to absorb what Grimm had just told him, before looking back at him, “If you are asking me to forgive you, then I do.” He pulled Grimm in closer, hugging him, “I understand why you wanted to keep all of that a secret, and it’s okay.”

Grimm looked at Brumm, slightly surprised at his words and actions, but quickly hugged back as tears of relief welled up, “I… I love you.”

Brumm lifted up his mask a bit, pulling back slightly to show Grimm his loving smile, “I love you too.”


	3. Hymm the child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grimm always requests something for The Nightmare Heart, provided that it helps the Troupe. However, this certain request stands out among the others. Wonder if his significant other would agree…

It is once again time. Another night, another place, and another crowd gathering for a show. As that crowd filled in and got to their seats, the lights started to dim, indicating that the show was about to start. Once the last viewer was seated, the Troupe Master appeared in a puff of smoke, standing center stage to a round of applause with a confident grin on his face.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” Grimm started, “Welcome, it is a pleasure and an honour to invite each and every one of you to witness the Nightmare Troupe perform! We promise that you will be amazed by what you see here tonight, as the lines between reality and fantasy are blurred to the point that you no longer can tell if you are waking or dreaming!” He bowed deeply, before disappearing behind the curtains in another puff of smoke with a snap of his fingers, signaling to his kin that it was time to perform. Music started echoing through the tent as the Grimmkins come out, amazing the audience with their performance.

Appearing next to his musician, Grimm let out a soft sigh of relief. Even with how long he had been performing, and having his speech memorized by Heart, there was always a small part of him that worried about messing it up somehow. Now that he could relax, Grimm turned to the bug standing next to him, flashing a grin.

Brumm, still playing his accordion for the audience, smiled up at Grimm, "Seems like you've set up this show pretty well, Grimm. I hope they enjoy our performance.”

"Thank you, Brumm" Grimm's grin widened a bit, "I hope so as well." He opened up the curtains enough for them to watch the Grimmkin’s performance. For being such troublemakers normally, the novices were dedicated to their act and did their best to make each show as spectacular as it could be.

It had been roughly five months since the mating ritual, and Brumm’s face still started to burn up just thinking of that night. Since then, the two have started sleeping together in Grimm’s tent, and spent almost all of their time together. Being so close all the time helped the two of them to learn the smaller details about each other that they themselves weren’t always conscious about. For example, Grimm learned that Brumm cleans his mask almost every night before going to sleep, and Brumm learned that Grimm, despite his connection to the Nightmare Heart, would have nightmares at least once a week. They weren’t severe, at least according to Grimm, but the musician was able to tell when he was having them. Grimm would usually start shaking in his sleep, and Nightmare sigils would come off of him. Brumm would comfort his mate after them, his nightmares, but then later Grimm would act as if they hadn’t happened. It worried him a bit, but there wasn’t much Brumm could do about it aside from comfort Grimm if he didn’t want to talk about it.

Putting those thoughts aside for now, Brumm returned to watching the show with Grimm, delighting in the audience’s reactions. Grimm in particular enjoyed seeing the smiles and hearing the surprised gasps and cheers, and tries to take in as much of it as he can while watching. This time, his eyes caught the sight of a family with a small child. Grimm wasn’t very good at figuring out a bug’s age just from looking at them, but if he had to make a guess he’d say that the child was no more than four, maybe five years old. Too young to provide energy for the Heart, too young to even really remember this show, but they were still so happy to see the Grimmkin perform. The troupe master found himself unable to look away from them, almost enraptured by how sweet they were, and how happy the family as a whole looked to be together…

After a bit, Brumm noticed that Grimm had stopped watching their kin, and instead his vision was focused on the audience, “Grimm, you’re looking at the crowd so intently. What has caught your eye, a potential new member?”

Grimm snapped out of his daydream and shook his head, looking at Brumm with a soft smile, “No, no, it’s just…” He looked back out, pointing out the family to Brumm, “There’s a family in the audience tonight, and they look quite happy, especially the child.” He chuckled softly when the kid started clapping, a bright smile on their face, “So happy indeed, just to be here…” Even as he speaks, Grimm’s smile slowly changed into a frown as he clutched the edge of the curtains a bit.

This change in demeanor didn’t go unnoticed by Brumm, and he looks up at the Troupe master, “Is there something bothering you, my Grimm? Or, just something on your mind in general.”

“Well…” Grimm sighed softly, biting his lip a bit, “I-I don’t know what you would think of this…”

“I don’t know how I will react either, if you don’t tell me.” Brumm tilted his head slightly, wondering just what had the normally confident Troupe master worried like this.

The taller bug looked at Brumm for a moment, before taking a deep breath, “W-Well, I was thinking about… about how nice it would be to have a-a child of our own…”

“Mrmm… Maybe…” The musician looked back at his kin, watching their performance, before turning back to Grimm as the meaning of his words clicked in his head, “Gr-Grimm… are you saying that we should…?”

Grimm nodded, knowing what he wanted to say, “Brumm, would you be interested in us having a child? I… I want us to be more, to _have_ more than we already have between us…”

Brumm was left completely speechless as he stared at Grimm’s hopeful look. This kind of ritual… It had never been done before, there had never been a need or a want for it. When Grimm’s body starts to wither, or he gets severely injured, he has to initiate the ritual for the Heart. From there, the Heart takes what remains of Grimm’s energy, and combines it with its own to create a Grimmchild from Grimm’s body. Once done, Grimm’s body turns to ash, and two of the Grimmkin Masters take care of the child until it’s fully grown, at which point the Heart transfers Grimm’s memories to them, and Grimm can take control of the troupe again.

What Grimm wanted… Brumm had no idea how that would work, let alone if it _could_ work. It wasn’t like Grimm to ask for something like this. In the past, sure, the Nightmare Heart had granted Grimm’s requests, but it was always at a cost to the Troupe Master. This request, what would the Heart want in exchange…?

The Musician’s silence was getting to Grimm, “Haven’t you ever thought of it, even in passing?” He asked, taking a step closer.

Brumm was still speechless, just trying to take in what Grimm had said, “No, I-I haven’t…” He tried to think of what to say before speaking again, but nothing that he knew Grimm would like to hear came to him, “Are you sure about this? I’m just a musician, and you’re a performer, neither of us have any idea of how to take care of a child!” Brumm exclaimed.

Grimm opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated, taking a step back as he closed his mouth instead, “I… I understand.” With a frown, he turned back towards the curtain, watching the performance wordlessly.

The time until the show ended was somewhat tense, but Grimm was a natural performer and so no one could tell anything was wrong when he went out to the stage, “Thank you for joining us tonight, we hope that you were entertained by our show! Until we meet again, farewell, and good night!” He bowed with a flourish before disappearing backstage to the crowd’s cheering. As he approached Brumm, Grimm looked at him for a moment, before moving to walk around him.

Brumm frowned, following after him, “Grimm, wait…” When he didn’t Brumm tried again, “Grimm… Please, turn around and look at me.”

This time, Grimm stopped with a sigh, turning to look at Brumm, “What is it?”

“I want to talk more about-”

“Mister troupe bug!” The two turned around in response to the young sounding voice calling them, which turned out to belong to the child they had seen in the audience. They ran up to Grimm and Brumm, a bright smile on the small beetle’s face, “Your show was really really cool! Are you gonna do another show ‘ere?”

Grimm smiled softly, kneeling down to the kid’s height with a sweet smile, “Did you really enjoy the show that much?”

“Yeah! When I grow up I wanna be a pafor… perform… I wanna do shows like you do!”

Grimm chuckled, touched at the kid’s sweetness and patted their head, “In that case, make sure to pick something you enjoy doing and practice it as much as you can. Who knows, perhaps one day you’ll be a part of the Nightmare troupe, if our fates cross paths to allow it.”

The kid gasped, smiling even more, “Really?! Thank you mister!” He hugged Grimm tightly. The performer was a bit surprised, but returned the hug, petting his head. Brumm watched the interaction, seeing just how caring he was towards the little bug. It made his heart swell up, a smile forming on his face under his mask. Maybe… Maybe it would be nice to see more of that.

Not long after, the child’s parents came over, and the three left. The kid waved to Grimm as they left, and Grimm waved back. Brumm held Grimm’s hand, getting his attention.

“Grimm, about what we were talking about before…”

“Yes…?” Grimm’s hopeful look returned, turning his full attention on the musician.

Brumm took a deep breath, taking both of Grimm’s hands in his and holding them tightly, “If… If we were to have a child, if that happened to us, would you be happy about it?”

Grimm held Brumm’s hands tightly and nodded, “Very much so…” He smiled softly, retaining that hopefulness, “I don’t want to force anything on you though, especially not something like this.” He squeezed his mate’s hands a little tighter.

_What?!_ Brumm was baffled by Grimm’s response. Everything he did was to make Grimm happy, he had devoted his entire life to that purpose, even if this was something he had never expected to have happen. The musician lifted his mask up, looking up at Grimm, “I’ve always wanted to see you smile, my Grimm.” Brumm started to blush, “So, yes, I agree. I-I want to have a c-child with you.”

Surprised, Grimm smiled brightly, "Really? You mean it?"

Brumm smiled back and nodded, "Yes, I really do.”

"Oh, Brumm~!" Grimm immediately hugs Brumm, unintentionally picking him up off the ground, and started kissing his musician lovingly, "Thank you, thank you!"

The musician’s heart melted in response to Grimm’s joyful outburst, laughing wholeheartedly as he hugged back, holding on tightly. Once Grimm calmed down, and Brumm’s feet were on the ground again, Grimm led the way to their tent.

The two stopped in front of it, “I have to consult the Heart on this, to make sure it’s okay with this, so just wait here a moment.” Grimm left the tent, leaving Brumm to play his accordion to help pass the time. He wondered how it would go, how the Heart would react to Grimm’s request. The musician just hoped that it would go well…

After what felt like far too long, Grimm walked into the tent, instantly catching Brumm’s attention. The musician put his accordion down on the bed next to him before getting up and going over to Grimm, holding his hands in his, “What did the Heart say, my Grimm?”

Grimm held Brumm’s hands tightly, smiling brightly with small tears in his eyes, “The Heart… they consented on giving us a child!” Grimm’s smile grew wider, his joy completely obvious.

Brumm smiled brightly in return, pulling Grimm in for a hug, “This is wonderful! But, what did the Heart want in return?”

“Don’t worry about that, my Brumm, tonight is a time of joy and happiness, not one of questions and worrying~” Grimm cupped Brumm’s cheeks, kissing him lovingly and deeply. Brumm returned the kiss, holding Grimm closer as one of his hands moved to Grimm’s side.

The two lovers, and soon-to-be parents, held the kiss for as long as they could, until their lungs started to burn from lack of air and the two pulled away. The pair looked at each other longingly, passion slowly growing into a burning flame, but…

“My Grimm…” Brumm looked up at him, “Before we… do this, could you promise me one thing?”

“Of course, my Brumm, what is it?” Grimm caressed his cheek.

He was a little hesitant, but Brumm answered, “Promise me… Promise me that you won’t regret this…”

Grimm responded almost instantly, “I promise that I won’t regret this, I never could.” He smiled sweetly, lifting his musician’s mask and kissing him softly.

Brumm kissed back happily, “Then, we may start~” He removed his mask completely, returning the kiss as he pulled Grimm in closely.

The pair stumbled back towards the bed, Grimm pushing Brumm onto the bed and grinning down at him, “While you need to be inside of me to create our child, the Heart didn’t say we couldn’t have some fun first~” He slid a hand down to Brumm’s slit, circling his finger around it.

“Mrmm~ Is that so~?” Brumm shuddered softly in pleasure, caressing Grimm’s sides lovingly. In response Grimm pushed a finger into his slit, earning a soft gasp from Brumm as his finger plunged in deeper.

Grimm grinned wider, adding a second finger, “What beautiful music you make, my musician~” He leaned in, biting Brumm's neck teasingly.

“Ahh~! Grimm~” He moaned, spurring Grimm on more. The musician gripped onto the performer tightly as he felt Grimm opened his fingers, spreading Brumm’s slit to help loosen him up. Grimm continued this, spreading his fingers as wide as he could while thrusting, for a bit before pulling them out and moving in between Brumm’s legs.

Brumm looked down, seeing that Grimm was already erect and eager, “Looks so good~ Bet it’ll feel even better~”

“You ready to find out~?” Grimm pushed his cock against Brumm’s slit, teasing him a bit before thrusting in, moaning and shuddering in pleasure. The musician had a similar reaction, feeling like there was a flash of pleasure consuming his body. After a moment to adjust, Grimm continued, thrusting hard and deep as he wrapped his arms around Brumm as the two melded into one.

“Grimm~!” Brumm rolled his hips in time with Grimm’s thrusts, small moans and gasps of pleasure escaping his lips each time Grimm bottomed out inside of him. He felt so full, the way Grimm just filled every inch of him was almost intoxicating~ Brumm just couldn’t get enough of it, and despite how quiet he normally was he couldn’t hold back any of the sounds he made. A small part of him wondered if the rest of the troupe could hear them, but that was quickly overwhelmed by everything else Brumm was feeling.

Grimm leaned down, kissing Brumm deeply, his tongue pushing into and exploring Brumm’s mouth. Brumm moaned loudly, pushing his tongue into Grimm’s mouth in return, their saliva mixing together as the troupe master gripped Brumm’s hips, pulling him down so their hips met, “Brumm~!” Grimm moaned into the kiss, digging his fingers into the other’s skin as the feelings of pleasure intensified with each touch and moan.

Their eyes met, and they knew that neither was going to last for much longer. With another passionate kiss, Grimm thrust deep inside of Brumm, cumming hard with a loud moan. Brumm reached climax shortly after him, the feeling of Grimm’s seed flooding his insides pushing him over the edge.

The two lovers remained locked together as they rode the wave of pleasure washing over them. Once they finally felt the wave subside, Grimm gently pulled out, panting softly as he looked over his mate. Brumm hummed softly, shuddering a little as he felt some of Grimm’s cum leak out of him, “That was good~ But, there’s still something we have to take care of~” Brumm reached around Grimm, placing his hand just above the troupe master’s ass and pulling him close, letting Grimm feel his own erection pressing against him, earning a shudder of arousal.

“Mmmm~ Can’t forget about that~” Grimm wrapped his arms around Brumm’s neck, “Let’s make us a baby~” He leaned forward, pushing Brumm onto the bed as he got on top of him. Grimm grinned down at Brumm, trying to mask the quickened beating of his heart with confidence. In all truthfulness, he had no idea how things would go. The Heart had said that their child would come out of an egg, but not how long it’d take for that egg to develop inside of him. Would it be months, or just a few minutes? This not knowing almost scared Grimm, but however long it took, he knew that he’d be alright as long as he had Brumm at his side.

Brumm looked over his mate’s body, appreciating the site of Grimm above him like this, straddling his lap and wanting him, “You look so good like this~” Brumm caressed Grimm’s thighs, earning a hum from the other.

“Thank you, my love~” Grimm lined himself up with Brumm cock, before lowering himself down onto it with a moan, resting his hands on the musician’s chest for balance. The two shared a loving smile, before Grimm started rocking his hips, riding his musician slowly at first, but gradually he started moving harder and faster, moaning louder as he did. Brumm gripped his hips, moving him faster, moaning along with the troupe master.

Grimm rolled his hips, gasping as Brumm’s cock rubbed against his sweet spot. Sparks flashed in front of his eyes, for some reason it felt more powerful than it had in previous experiences, and if Brumm hadn’t been moving him Grimm might’ve stopped for a moment to figure out just why that was. Instead he just cried out in pleasure and tightened around Brumm, earning a moan from the musician as well. The two moved as one, with Grimm slamming himself down onto Brumm, and Brumm thrusting up into him.

“Ahhh~! Brumm~! I love you so much~! Please, f-fill me~” Grimm cried out, still sensitive from their previous round.

The musician started slamming up into Grimm harder and faster, “Grimm~! Mrmmm~ I could do this f-forever with you~” Despite saying that, Brumm could feel his own orgasm coming along soon. He started thrusting up into him as hard and as fast as he could, the two moaning in unison as they moved closer and closer to their climax.

One, two, three more thrusts was all it took for Grimm to cry out in pleasure, cumming onto Brumm’s chest. Brumm came shortly after, filling Grimm up to the brim. As he did, the troupe master moaned, feeling a small ember spark to life inside of him. Almost instantly, he knew what it meant, and a smile formed on his face.

“Is… Is it done~?” Brumm asked, panting heavily.

Grimm tiredly nodded with a loving smile, “The ritual is complete~” He panted, resting a hand on his stomach as the troupe master caught his breath, “I can already feel the spark of new life forming within me~” The troupe master moved off of Brumm’s cock, shuddering softly as he moved to lay down next to Brumm.

“That’s wonderful~” Brumm smiled softly, looking at his lovely mate as the two enjoyed the afterglow. The musician slowly closed his eyes as he drifted to sleep, holding the troupe master close. Grimm smiled softly as he followed him into sleep, resting a hand on his stomach and feeling the warmth of the egg growing inside of him.

Some time later, no more than a few hours, a loud gasp woke the musician up. Brumm immediately turned to Grimm, surprised to see the other lying on his back with a visibly swollen stomach. There was a faint red glow to the rounded bump which seemed to pulse like a heartbeat. He was distracted from that by the cry of pain his mate let out, panting heavily and sweating profusely.

“G-Grimm, is the child coming already?!” Brumm quickly sat up, going to his side, extremely worried.

The troupe master panted as he looked up at Brumm, “Y-Yes, they’re-” Grimm cried out in pain as the egg shifted, biting his lip and screwing his eyes shut as he clawed at the blankets in response.

Brumm freaked out, “Grimm!” He held the troupe master’s hand, trying to offer any kind of comfort. He didn’t know what to do, Brumm had never dealt with anything like this before, he had no idea what to do to help his mate. Wait, the Grimmkin masters! They take care of Grimm when he’s going through the ritual, maybe they’d know what to do!

“Grimm, just hang in there, I-I’m going to get help!” Brumm moved to get up off the bed, when Grimm grabbed his arm tightly, looking up at him in desperation.

“P-Please, s-stay with me…!” Grimm cried out louder as the egg moved lower, digging his nails into Brumm’s arm.

Brumm winced in response, but nodded and sat back down, comforting Grimm as best as he could, “O-Okay, okay, I-I’m staying right here. Y-You’re going to be okay, I-I promise…!” Even as he said that Brumm wasn’t so sure. What if Grimm _wasn’t_ going to be okay? What if something went wrong, what if the egg got stuck, and Grimm couldn’t get it out on his own?! What if-?!

Grimm cried out in pain again as the egg moved lower, getting closer and closer to his entrance. Brumm snapped out of his mental panic, focusing on Grimm again. He shifted Grimm to lean against him, rubbing his side to try and help ease the pain even slightly. Grimm gripped onto Brumm tightly, taking in any relief he could. The next few minutes were excruciating as the egg slowly made its way down and out of Grimm’s slit, the bulge of the egg getting lower with each contraction. Eventually they could see the egg as Grimm’s slit was spread open by it, the red orb almost ready to come out. There was a small dark patch within it, but Brumm wasn’t focused on that right now, all he cared about was getting his mate through this in one piece.

Grimm reached down a hand to try and catch it, but moved his arm back up to Brumm, gripping onto him tightly, “C-Catch it, Brumm!” Grimm cried out, burying his face in Brumm’s collar.

The musician nodded and immediately took action, reaching down and catching the egg as it made the final push out of Grimm. The troupe master gasped as a gush of fluid came out of him after the egg, collapsing against Brumm in exhaustion. Brumm looked at the egg in his hand. It was a small, red orb, just big enough to fill his palm, and translucent, which let him make out the dark outline of the child, of _their_ child, inside of it. He wiped off the fluids on the egg, helped Grimm to lay down comfortably, then placed the egg down next to him on a pillow.

Now that it was over, both felt relieved, Brumm because Grimm was alright, and Grimm at the sight of their child. They could see the little indication of their child, floating in the fluids that filled the egg. Brumm’s eyes widened and he lifted up his mask, looking at the egg intently before turning to Grimm, smiling brightly.

“My Grimm…! It’s a boy, our child is a boy!” Brumm exclaimed in joy, Grimm smiling softly as he gently caressed the egg.

“Our little boy…~” The baby inside twitched in response to Grimm’s touch, causing his smile to widen, “Did you see that, Brumm? He moved!”

Brumm smiled more at Grimm’s enthusiasm over their child, it was infectious. Despite his nervousness and initial hesitation, Brumm knew that he had made the right decision in agreeing to have this child with Grimm.

“What should we call him? Our child?” Grimm looked up at Brumm, smiling lovingly as he continued to gently rub their egg.

“Mrmm…” Brumm hummed in thought, moving to lay down next to Grimm with the egg in between them, before smiling as he got an idea in his head, “How does ‘Hymm’ sound?”

Grimm smiled sweetly at him, placing a hand on Brumm’s cheek before kissing him softly, “It sounds perfect, my Brumm~” He smiled more, “I love you, and Hymm~”

Brumm kissed back lovingly, “I love the two of you too~”


	4. The Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brumm's decision to have a child with Grimm leaves him with questions, and a need for a second opinion if he did the right thing and is truly prepared for the responsibility.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No smut this time around folks, this is one of the few safe for work chapters planned in the story. Still, we hope you enjoy it, and look forward to a return to smut in the next chapter.

Brumm was frowning under his mask as he made his way to Divine’s tent. The musician was worried, and while he would normally talk to Grimm about his problems, but this… well, it was kind of hard to talk about this kind of problem with him, and so, he made his way to the only other bug he could think of to ask for advice. Whenever either one had a problem that they felt they couldn’t talk to Grimm about, Brumm and Divine would go to see each other. Honestly it was mostly Brumm going to Divine, but he did listen to her when she needed it. Today though, well, he needed her help with a big problem, one that could affect his relationship with Grimm.

Brumm stopped in front of her tent, sighing softly before entering, “Divine, are you awake?” It was pretty early in the morning, the musician hoped he hadn’t woken her up accidentally.

Fortunately for him, Divine had already been up for a while. She had made a pot of tea and was sitting at the table, enjoying it when Brumm came in, “Ah, hello dearie, how are you? Come in, come in.” She beckoned.

The musician walked in, sitting at the other side of the small table, “I… I need your help, Divine, or at least your advice.”

“Oh, what can I do for you? Make yourself comfortable.” Divine got out a second cup, pouring it for Brumm preemptively.

Brumm sighed, picking up his cup and holding it, looking down into it, “Thank you, I need a break…”

Divine hummed, “Is something the matter?” She took a sip from her cup, patiently waiting for Brumm to feel comfortable speaking.

Once he felt comfortable to do so, Brumm spoke up, “Well, as you know it’s been a few months now since Grimm and I told each other how we felt, and since he laid the egg with our child in it.” He frowned, holding the cup tighter, “We’ll have to take care of the child that comes out of it, once it hatches, and Grimm is saying that is coming soon… I’m worried…”

“About what will happen at that time?” Divine finished for him.

“Mrmm…” Brumm nodded and frowned, “I’m still thinking about it, we have served Grimm for a long time, but nothing like this has ever happened before… What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to take care of a child when I know nothing about… anything about taking care of a child? I-I only said yes to make Grimm happy…” He felt so guilty admitting that, but it was the truth. The sight of Grimm with that small beetle child had warmed him up to the idea more, but he didn’t know if it had been a good idea, even now. The sight of the egg, of _their_ egg, warmed his heart, and it made him feel more confident, but that just made him feel all the more conflicted…

Divine tilted her head, “So, you didn’t want the child?”

“No, I didn’t mean that!” He stood up in protest, “I…! I…” He sat back down, tilting his head, “Heartdammit…”

The merchant chuckled and smiled warmly, “Fufufu, this is a confusing time for you, isn't it? I'm sure all new parents feel that way.”

Brumm looked up at her again, “Do you think so?” It made sense, but still… “If that’s the case, how should I get prepared for this?”

“Well, there are a few things you’ll need for when the baby comes, like a crib. But for the emotional and mental side, it would be a good idea to talk to Grimm about how you are feeling.” Divine offered, before picking up her cup and taking another drink of her tea.

“And tell Grimm what? That I’m having second thoughts about us having a child when he's already on his way here?” Brumm shook his head, “No, my whole purpose is to make Grimm happy. If I told him how I was feeling it would break his heart…”

Divine continued enjoying her drink for a moment longer before putting down her cup, “Brumm, how many cycles have you been with the troupe now, knowing Grimm?”

He actually had to stop and think for a while, “All I can say is… it’s been an eternity. I happily took Grimm’s hand when he asked me to join the troupe, and I haven’t regretted that day in the slightest since that time. I made a promise, and I don’t plan on breaking it.”

“Hmm, I see… And in all that time, has a Grimmchild ever been formed from Grimm giving birth to them? From what I can recall, the Heart has always created them from Grimm’s ashes whenever the ritual drains him, or he gets seriously hurt.”

“It’s never occurred. The purpose of a Grimmchild is to pass on Grimm’s memories and consciousness.” Brumm paused for a moment, the implications finally starting to settle inside of him, “But this child… This child’s purpose is to start a family.”

Divine nodded, refilling her and Brumm’s cups, “I can say, without a doubt, that you are the only one our Master would ever consider doing such a thing with. Unlike you or me, who at one point had a family, Grimm was created by the Heart for the sole purpose of continuing its existence. He has no knowledge of what a mother’s love or a father’s guidance feels like. No one has ever looked at him, cradled in their arms, and felt an unconditional love well up in their chest. The Grimmkin Masters who look after him while he is going through the ritual take good care of him, and care for him of course, but there is no substitute for things like that.” She chuckled softly, putting down the tea pot and giving Brumm a gentle smile, “I bet he feels just as nervous and confused as you do, probably even more so.”

“Perhaps so.” Brumm looked down at his cup, thinking back to how gentle Grimm had been with the beetle child who had come up to him, and the smile that had been on his mate’s face, a smile forming on his own as he recalled that time, “I never thought about it like that.” He took a drink from his cup, “I should go talk to him, he probably misses me already.” The musician chuckled, standing up, “Thank you for the talk, Divine, and the tea.” He lifted his mask to show her his smile, then turned and left to go back to Grimm.

“Fufufu, you’re welcome Brumm dear, you know where to find me.” She was happy for Brumm and Grimm, but a small twinge came from her heart. As they had talked about, this had never happened before. Although the Heart had given the troupe many things, and had been kind in bringing them together, she knew of its cruelty too. She also knew that creating a new Grimmchild took a lot of energy from the Heart, so for Grimm to get it to agree to let him and Brumm have a child… Divine worried what Grimm had to have offered in exchange for such a gift… “Good luck, Brumm, I’m sure you’ll make a great father…”

Meanwhile, Brumm had returned to his and Grimm’s tent, “Grimm? Are you still here?” He looked around, before spotting the Troupe Master lying in bed, still asleep with a hand on the egg, still no bigger than when it came out of him, but the outline of their child was much more visible now. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight as he moved over to the bed, carefully climbing on it and sitting next to Grimm with the egg in between them, “My Grimm~”

The musician placed his hand on top of the egg, looking down at it softly as he moved to lay down, “I wonder when you’ll come out..”

Feeling his touch, Hymm moved toward Brumm’s hand, resting a tiny hand on the shell. Brumm blinked in surprise, then chuckled and smiled happily, “Can you hear me, little Hymm?”

Hymm moved forward again, this time bumping his head against the shell when Brumm’s hand was. Brumm smiled more, gently rubbing a thumb over the egg, “Hymm~”

As Brumm was admiring their child, Grimm started to wake up, smiling softly at the sight, “Welcome back, my Brumm.” He looked down at the egg, chuckling softly and smiling more, “It looks like Hymm was waiting for you too~”

The musician lifted up his mask, showing Grimm a soft and loving smile, “Did you sleep well, my Grimm?”

“I did, and I think our little one did too.” The troupe master turned his attention back to the egg, rubbing his thumb over it, “Hello little Hymm, can you hear us in there~?” In response to Grimm’s voice, Hymm tilted his head towards him, bumping his hand against his egg again where Grimm’s hand was this time.

“I think he does.” Brumm looked between his mate and their child, mrmming in thought.

Grimm looked at the egg lovingly, “We can’t wait to meet you, our precious child~” The love on that he had for Hymm was written all over his face, which only made Brumm feel worse about his own feelings, and what he was about to say. A small frown formed on his face as such, and didn’t go unnoticed by Grimm who sat up, frowning slightly in concern at Brumm’s expression, “Is something wrong...?”

“Mrm?” Brumm blinked and looked up, seeing his mate’s concern and tried to convince him otherwise, “No, everything’s alright, my Grimm, I promise…”

“Are you sure?” Grimm reached over, caressing Brumm’s cheek softly and reassuringly, “You know you can tell me anything…”

“I know,” the musician placed his hand on top of the troupe master’s, leaning into it, “But… I don’t think you can handle what I’m about to say…”

Grimm just smiled reassuringly, “As I said, you can tell me anything, Brumm.”

He sighed, taking a breath before looking up at the taller bug, “It's… I’m still not sure about my decision on… starting a family. N-Now, I know I said yes, but… but…” This was harder to say than he had imagined it would be. Brumm pulled back a bit from Grimm, feeling as if he didn’t deserve his affection.

“B-Brumm…?” Grimm’s voice held a slight tremble in it, and his expression was somewhere between just being worried and feeling scared.

Seeing this, Brumm’s heart tightened in his chest and he reached over, putting his hands on Grimm’s shoulders as worry overtook his own features, “G-Grimm, please. I… I love you, but I don't think we're ready for… for Hymm.” He motioned to the tiny being in question, who had put both hands against his shell, head bumping against the top of it.

Grimm looked down at the egg as he addressed Brumm, “Th-Then, why did you agree to having a child with me…?”

“Because I don't want to see you like this. But now I made it worse by saying this and… and…” Brumm locked his eyes to Grimm’s, “And I'm so sorry. I truly am.” Seeing his Grimm like this, it was breaking his heart… why had he said that he would tell Grimm his feelings?

“Just what…?” Tears welled up in the troupe master’s eyes.

“I… I-I don't know how we should t-take care of Hymm.” A sob broke out of Brumm as he moved closer to Grimm, not feeling he deserved it, but wanting, needing the comfort of holding the other in his arms, “Please, I swear on my life that I will stay with you, love you. I'm… I'm just confused with everything in this Troupe already…” He wrapped Grimm up in a hug, careful of their egg.

Grimm sniffled, hugging and clinging to Brumm in return, “D-Don’t you think I’m w-worried about how we’ll raise Hymm too? I-I’ve never been alive at the same time as a grimmchild, let alone raised one… I-I… I-I’m so scared that I’ll mess it up, o-or that he’ll grow to hate me…” He choked out a sob, the fear that had been inside of him coming to the surface. This child, _their_ child, meant so much to him, Grimm didn’t know if he could take it if they did something that ended up hurting Hymm…

Brumm looked up at his mate, “Grimm…” He hugged him tighter, “I know… I know you feel the same way, but that’s why I’m here. I’m not letting you stress about taking care of our child, alone.”

Grimm hugged back just as tightly, “Brumm…! Thank you…” Hearing his mate say that helped him feel a bit more relieved, even if he was still worried. Before they could say anything else, a small crack came from the egg, and when the two looked down they could see a thin crack forming on the surface where Hymm had pushed his head against.

“Mrm?” The musician blinked, “Are you seeing this, Grimm?”

It took a second for what was happening to register in Grimm’s head, but when it did his eyes widened, “It’s… Hymm’s hatching!” Another crack appeared on the egg, with Hymm trying to push against it.

Brumm smiled sweetly, letting go of Grimm and moving closer to the egg, “Hymm, you can do it, come on…!”

“Come on, Hymm, you’re almost there…!” Grimm’s smile matched Brumm’s, his eyes lighting up with joy.

After what felt like an eternity, but was really just a few minutes, the cracks were big enough for Hymm to break through and push his way out, red fluids covering the tiny being as he took in his first breaths of air, letting out a tiny cry.

Grimm carefully reached down, picking up Hymm and holding him in his hands reverently, looking at his and Brumm’s baby in wonder, “He’s so small…” Hymm barely filled up one hand, and he was so light as well.

“Yet so strong…” Brumm looked over Hymm with the same sense of wonder that Grimm had, simply staring at him for the longest time before looking up at Grimm again, “Grimm…”

“This is our child…” Grimm snapped his fingers, getting a towel and gently started cleaning the fluids off of Hymm, who calmed down as Grimm dried and warmed him up.

The musician chuckled softly, a loving smile forming as he looked back at Hymm, “Hymm’s so cute~ This, this is amazing Grimm…”

Grimm nodded, a tear of joy falling down his cheek now as he smiled lovingly at Hymm, then at his mate, “Brumm…”

“Grimm… Hymm…” Brumm gently wrapped his arms around his new family, being careful of the tiniest member as he held them gently but closely.

Grimm leaned into Brumm, hugging back with his free arm. He looked down at Hymm, then back at his mate with a growing smile, “Would you like to hold Hymm?”

“I’d… I’d love to, my Grimm~” Brumm smiled lovingly, looking down at their baby as he carefully took Hymm out of Grimm’s hand, chuckling softly as he looked at the tiny one, “He is indeed so small~” Even with his eyes still closed, Hymm’s head tilted up towards Brumm as his tiny arms, smaller than any of Brumm’s fingers, moved around as he tried to figure out how they worked.

Grimm smiled more at the sight, “He recognizes your voice~”

Brumm’s face lit up, the joy of this moment leaving him feeling overwhelmed, “Little Hymm~ We…” He glanced up at Grimm before looking back down at Hymm, “We love you so much~”

“Yes we do, very, very much~” The troupe master smiled lovingly at his little family, a feeling of love and hope that he had never known so strongly filling him at the sight of his mate holding their child, their little baby boy.

Brumm chuckled as Hymm turned his head towards Grimm again, “I think he misses you already~” He gently handed Hymm back over to Grimm, who happily took him. The tiny babe wrapped one of his wing-like arms around Brumm’s fingers as he laid in Grimm’s hand, “Mrm? Aw~ You want to hold me, little Hymm~?”

Grimm chuckled softly, “Aw, he already loves you~” Now clear of anything blocking them, Hymm started to open his eyes, the same red colour as Grimm’s, if not a little brighter.

“Grimm, look, he has your eyes~” Brumm cooed happily.

“He does~” Grimm gently pet Hymm’s head, earning a soft purr from him, “Heh, he has your gentle voice~”

“Does he~?” Brumm leaned his head in close, mrming softly, “Do you hear me~?” Hymm looked up at Brumm, attempting to mimic the sound of Brumm’s ‘mrms’ much to the couple’s enjoyment, “Okay, he really does~” Brumm tilted his head back up, looking at his mate, “He’s wonderful~”

Grimm nodded, smiling lovingly at Brumm, “He really is~” The two parents leaned back against the pillows on the bed, holding their child close as Hymm went to sleep in Grimm’s hand, simply trying to make the moment last as long as possible. The love Grimm felt in his heart towards him, that he and Brumm felt for their child, could be felt throughout the camp as the air seemed lighter.

Divine smiled from her tent, happy for the new parents. She would give them her congratulations later, but for now she thought it'd be best to just let them be as she finished off her tea.


	5. Another Grimm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After taking care of their child, the two fall asleep. Waking up somewhere in a place where red curtains span endlessly like a maze. Brumm soon discovers that he has the ability to control the place, so he summons a clone of Grimm. It unexpectedly comes to life and... Well, the two will have much more fun than before~

Everything must eventually take a break, and that is true even for the Grimm troupe. Despite their high energy and awe inspiring shows, every now and then they just need a moment to rest and unwind. The Grimmkins were resting, Divine was checking her stock, and Grimm was spending time with the newest, and smallest, member of the troupe.

As for his part, Brumm was just finishing up with cleaning the stage. He wiped his forehead, looking over the stage and nodding in self-approval at the tidiness of the area. The musician put away the broom, and made his way to his tent, already smiling at the thought of what was waiting for him. It had been a week since their sweet little Hymm came out into the world from his egg, and the new parents were still trying to adjust. The hardest part was during shows when Hymm would start crying for one reason or another, but fortunately the rest of the troupe did what they could to help out, Divine keeping an eye on Hymm during Grimm’s opening and closing speeches. The rest of the time Grimm would sit near Brumm with their baby in his arms, cooing and playing with the tiny child happily.

That was one thing Brumm wondered about, just how different was Hymm from a Grimmchild? Would he have all of Grimm’s abilities once he got older? Would Hymm even age normally, or at all? The musician shuddered a little at the thought of being woken up every night for the rest of eternity by Hymm’s crying, though the baby was surprisingly good at sleeping for most of the night.

He brushed the thought aside as he reached their tent, smiling more as he pushed the tent entrance aside and walked in, greeted to the sight of his mate sitting on their bed with Hymm in his lap, shaking a rattle for the tiny tot. Little happy coos and babbling noises came out of the baby who eagerly watched the rattle move about, earning a happy chuckle from Grimm.

Brumm closed the tent behind him, walking over as Grimm looked over and smiled at him, “Oh, hello, my Brumm~”

“Hello, my Grimm~” Brumm leaned in, kissing Grimm lovingly before looking down at Hymm, “How are you two doing? It looks like you’re having fun.”

"We're both doing well. Hymm has been quite energetic tonight, haven't you little flame~?" Grimm cooed happily, their baby responding with a happy ‘Nyah~!’ and wiggling around joyfully as Grimm petted their head.

The musician chuckled, looking at Hymm as another thought came to mind, “Grimm, what do you think our little Hymm’s talent is? Could you help me figure it out?”

“Well, I doubt that at a week old we’ll get a lot out of him, but there’s no harm in trying.” Grimm smiled as Brumm sat on the bed next to him, the two looking at their tiny Hymm lovingly, “What do you think, little Hymm, would you like to show us your talent?” Grimm’s smile grew wider as Hymm babbled happily, wiggling and wanting to play more.

“Mrmm, great, but who should go first? I was thinking to try and teach little Hymm on how to play the accordion.”

“I think that sounds like a good idea, but we’ll need a small one since he’s still so tiny.” Hymm had grown from his initial size, Grimm now needing both hands to hold him, but the sweet little baby was still so little.

Brumm frowned a little, “Unfortunately, I don’t have a spare, or a tiny one.”

Grimm hummed in thought, petting Hymm’s head some more, “How about we introduce him to a different instrument for now? What would be a good fit for our little Hymm?”

“Perhaps a flute or a clarinet- no, wait, he’ll just nom the tips. Drums?” Brumm sighed, “No, he doesn’t have hands yet…” Or arms for that matter, “Got any other instruments?”

Grimm thought about it for a while before getting an idea, “What about a horn? That’s simple enough right?”

“Oh! I didn’t think of that.” Brumm smiled softly as Grimm snapped his fingers, creating a toy horn and giving it to Hymm, who held the end of it in his tiny mouth and made a toot sound. Brumm chuckled, “I think he likes it.”

The Troupe Master smiled happily, “I think so too.”

Hymm looked up at his parents, specifically Brumm, and started tooting the horn at him.

Brumm tilted his head, “Mrm? What do you want, little Hymm?” It took both parents a moment, but soon they realized that Hymm was trying to toot out one of Brumm’s songs. The notes were all flat, but that was at least partially due to the fact that the horn was a toy and Hymm was a baby. Brumm chuckled, “You can do it, little Hymm~”

At the encouragement of his parents, Hymm let out a tiny huff and tried again, managing to get one or two notes that sounded good.

“Oh, you’re getting there, little Hymm. Come on…!” Grimm encouraged the child in his lap. Hymm took a deep breath, and then let out a very squeaky, very loud toot.

Both Grimm and Brumm shuddered a bit at the irritating noise, then sighed softly, “Mrm… Well, at least you tried, little Hymm, I know you can do it.” He patted the small babe’s head, who responded with the cheerful noise he usually made.

“How about we take a break from the horn for now? I don’t know how much damage my hearing can withstand in a single night.” Grimm tried to take the horn back, but Hymm held onto it tightly even as he was lifted up along with it.

Brumm held Hymm and tried to help with getting the horn out of his mouth, “Hymm, give the horn back to your father, you can play with it later.” Reluctantly, Hymm let go and started pouting, wiggling into Brumm’s arms and leaning up, teething on the fluffy collar around his neck. After a moment, the tiny tot started to relax.

The musician held his son close, rubbing his back as he looked to Grimm, “Hymm really like nomming on this doesn’t he?”

Grimm chuckled, “That he does. Maybe he likes how it feels in his mouth, or the taste. Could just be a baby thing too.” The two simply watched their child for a while, Hymm purring happily, until he started to drool.

“Okay, little Hymm, that’s enough.” Brumm pulled him away from his collar, which Grimm replaced with a teething ring that Hymm happily accepted in its place.

After a while, Hymn let out a yawn, feeling tired after such a big play session and curled up to sleep in Brumm’s lap, still holding the teething ring in his mouth. Grimm chuckled softly with a loving smile, “Looks like someone is all worn out~” He cooed, a yawn following after, “Hmm, make that two someones.”

Brumm chuckled, “How about we all get some rest?” Holding Hymm closely, he walked over to the tiny baby’s crib and placed him in it, pulling the blanket up and kissing his head before returning to his bed with Grimm. After a bit, the two fell asleep in each other’s arms, parenthood exhausting them.

When the musician opened his eyes again, he was surrounded by red curtains. The first time he had arrived here it was confusing, but now he was mostly used to it. Brumm started walking down the nearest path, “Hope I can find Grimm soon, I can’t wait to show him my surprise…”

As if waiting for that cue, something wrapped around Brumm’s leg, stopping him in his tracks. The musician gripped the binding and pulled on it, bringing Grimm out from behind the curtains with a grin, “Hello, my Grimm~”

Grimm returned the expression, letting go of the bindings and wrapping his arms around Brumm’s neck, “Hello, my Brumm~”

“I have something I want to show you, it’s something I recently figured out how to do.” Brumm wrapped his arms around Grimm’s waist.

“Oh~?” The Troupe Master tilted his head, “I can’t wait to see.”

Brumm let go of Grimm, took a step back, and clapped his hands. The curtains in front of them opened up and what looked like a screen appeared, one of Hymm’s memories playing out in front of them.

Grimm gasped softly in surprise, then smiled, “Brumm, this is incredible!” Brumm smiled at Grimm’s joy, proud of himself.

“I was messing around a bit during a nap, and I found out how to view memories. Well, Hymm’s memories at least. I wanted to show you this because I knew you would like it.”

With a snap of his fingers Grimm made a small couch appear, the two of them sitting down on it to continue watching the memory play out.

Brumm leaned against his mate, smiling softly, “You know, it's really fun playing with him. Even though we both know we are preoccupied with everything, we still manage to have some time with Hymm~”

“Mmhmm~ Watching him grow a little bit each day is the best part~” Grimm held Brumm’s hand, smiling lovingly at his musician as the memory ended.

“Alright, should I bring up another memory?”

Grimm hummed in thought, “Why don’t we see if you can manipulate this place in other ways?” He waved his hand, closing the curtain that had the screen behind it.

Brumm nodded and stood up, clapping his hands twice to see what would happen. In a puff of red smoke, a clone of Grimm appeared, completely naked and immobile. The musician flinched in surprise, “Wha-?!”

“Well, this is certainly new…” Grimm got up, walking over to the clone and waved his hand in front of its face, getting no reaction out of it. When Grimm put a hand on the clone’s shoulder, it blinked and looked around, before focusing on Brumm and grinning, beckoning him closer with a finger.

The musician took a step back in confusion, “Is it… calling me?” The clone tilted its head when Brumm didn’t go to him. Its grin widened as it walked over to Brumm instead, wrapping its arms around the shorter bug’s neck and pressing against him seductively.

The Troupe Master chuckled and walked over, “I think its reacting to your desires, my Brumm~” The clone nodded in agreement, running a hand down Brumm’s chest.

Brumm looked between the two, then lifted his mask to show the grin on his face, “In that case, think you can give me a helping hand, my Grimm~?”

“Gladly~” Grimm kissed him deeply and lovingly, the two locking lips passionately as the clone moved down Brumm’s body, running its hands over the musician’s chest before reaching down to grope at his crotch. The musician moaned softly into the kiss as he tossed his mask over to the couch, caressing Grimm’s sides as the Troupe Master wrapped his arms around his neck.

The clone licked its lips, teasing Brumm’s cock out of its hiding place before sucking on the tip happily. The lucky musician reached down, holding the clone’s head in one hand while the other pulled Grimm in closer, “This feels nice~” Brumm moaned out.

Grimm pressed against him, “Mmhmm~ That’s the power of dreams, my Brumm~”

The clone sucked Brumm hard, nearly deepthroating him as it held onto his thighs. Brumm moaned in response, gesturing the clone to go even faster which it gladly did. The musician kissed Grimm before whispering into his neck, “I’ll try it again…~ I want to get better at it~”

“Heheh, by all means~”

Brumm clapped his hands, teleporting the trio into a room that looked similar to his and Grimm’s, except it was still surrounded by the red curtains of the maze. The clone didn’t mind or notice, moaning as it savoured the taste of Brumm’s cock in his mouth, now on its knees on the floor next to the bed. Brumm moaned and leaned down, sucking Grimm’s cock as he enjoyed the feeling of the clone’s lips around his cock.

Grimm moaned, shuddering softly in pleasure as he patted Brumm’s head while the clone licked up the underside of the musician’s cock. Brumm moaned around Grimm’s cock, sucking faster and deeper, making a slight gagging sound while gesturing the clone to keep going. The clone kept going, moaning loudly as its cock emerged from its slit while it kept sucking Brumm enthusiastically.

The three kept going, until Brumm firmly gripped the clone’s head and pulled it down fully, cumming down its throat. In response the clone swallowed his load down, cumming and moaning in pleasure. Grimm climaxed shortly after the clone, moaning loudly as he filled Brumm’s mouth. The musician held onto Grimm’s hips, not wanting to pull off despite his lungs wanting him to do just that. His eyes met Grimm’s as the Troupe Master panted, looking down at him lovingly as the clone cleaned Brumm’s cock clean with its tongue.

When he couldn’t stay down any longer, Brumm slowly pulled off of Grimm, gasping and coughing a bit, “I may have overdone it~”

Grimm chuckled softly, gently pulling Brumm up so they were eye to eye, “Good work~” The two kissed lovingly, Grimm smiling into the kiss with a content sigh. The Troupe Master looked down at the clone, still sitting on the floor and panting softly, “It’s strange seeing a copy of myself, not that I’m hard to look at, heh. Really though, we should probably give it a name so that there isn’t any confusion.”

Brumm looked down at the clone, tilting his head, “Mrmm… How about…” He thought about it for a while, “Grimmwald?” The clone looked up at them, tilting his head in curiosity, “Yes, we’re talking about you.” Brumm smiled softly at them.

“Well, it’s not the most… creative name, but it works, so why not?” Grimm smirked, “Now there’s a name to moan~” Brumm’s face turned red at that, but he couldn’t deny that the idea wasn’t appealing…

“I… I want more~ Could you two take the lead~?”

“Certainly~” Grimm shuffled them around, getting Brumm to lay down on the bed while he climbed between his legs. Grimmwald in turn climbed onto the bed, straddling Brumm’s lap and pressing his ass against Brumm’s cock with a confident smirk.

The musician looked between them, enamoured with the sight and already finding his patience wearing out, “Go ahead~”

With the okay given, Grimm pushed into Brumm while Grimmwald lowered himself onto his cock, moaning as Brumm filled his ass. The three waited for a bit, adjusting for a bit before Grimm started thrusting, holding onto Brumm’s thighs as he rocked into him. Grimmwald started rolling his hips, moaning softly as the musician’s cock pulsed inside of him.

“Ahh~! Please… Keep going~” Brumm pushed back against Grimm while trying to simultaneously thrust up into Grimmwald. While this wasn’t very successful, his partners got the message, Grimm getting deeper with each thrust and Grimmwald bouncing his hips on top of Brumm, moaning louder as his head tilted back. Brumm was in a similar state, moaning and gripping onto the bed sheets tightly as his senses were awash of pleasure, “Grimm~ Grimmwald~” He moaned loudly, unable to hold himself back.

Brumm gasped as Grimm found his sweet spot and started pounding into it, “My Brumm~” Grimm moaned loudly as he held onto his mate, wanting to push him past his limits. Grimmwald glanced back at Grimm, a similar idea on his mind. The two shared a small nod before Grimmwald looked back down at Brumm, pulling almost all the way off before slamming back down with a cry of pleasure, and Grimm started thrusting into Brumm hard and fast, hitting his sweet spot each time.

The musician felt a familiar heat building inside of him, barely able to focus on anything else as he took in the pleasure, “Ahh~! I-I’m going to…~!” Brumm grabbed Grimmwald’s hips, thrusting up hard into him. The clone was left gasping and moaning as a few thrusts later Brumm filled him up, sending Grimmwald over the edge as he came onto the musician’s stomach and chest. Grimm thrust in fully, moaning loudly as he spilled his seed inside of Brumm. The three stayed like that for a while, enjoying the warmth of their afterglow.

Brumm panted heavily, exhausted, but looked up lovingly at the two Grimms, “Th-Thank you, you two~”

Grimm returned the loving smile, “You’re welcome,” He looked at Grimmwald, “And thank you for this unique experience~” The Troupe Master gently pulled out of Brumm, laying down next to him as Grimmwald got off and cuddled into Brumm on the other side, leaving the musician happily sandwiched between the two.

“That was amazing~ Mrmm~” Brumm wrapped an arm around each of his partners, perfectly content when he heard something, “Wait… did you hear that?”

Grimm looked up at him, “Hmm? Hear what?” He looked around as the noise got louder. After a moment, they were able to identify it as Hymm’s crying. The ground started shaking, and a moment later Grimm and Brumm were awake and back in their tent, Hymm lying in his crib, crying and squirming around.

The two got up and went over to their little one, Grimm gently picking Hymm up and holding him close as he tried to soothe him, “Shh, shh, it’s okay my little one, we’re here…” Hymm kept crying, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Brumm frowned a bit, but spoke in a soothing tone, “Little Hymm, don’t cry. We’re here now, it’s okay.” The tiny tot sobbed and looked up at his parents, starting to calm down at the gentle reassurance, “We have woken our little Hymm up.” The musician looked over at the bed, seeing the mess that they had made on it, then looked back at his mate and child, “We’re so sorry for that, little Hymm.”

Grimm gently rocked Hymm in his arms, “We didn’t mean to wake you our darling.” Hymm was still sniffling and sobbing, but he had calmed down a bit at least, snuggling into his father’s arms.

Seeing that their baby had calmed down some, Brumm sighed in relief, “Good…” He looked back over at the bed, then up at Grimm, “I should clean our… mess here.”

“I’ll give you a hand.” Grimm placed Hymm back in his crib, the little one whining to let his displeasure at this be known. The Troupe Master frowned a bit, then smiled and snapped his fingers, summoning one of the novices, “Can you play a tune for Hymm while Brumm and I are busy?” The novice nodded and moved next to the crib, singing a little tune for the tiny tot. Grimm’s smile widened as Hymm calmed more, wiggling along to the tune the novice was singing, and went over to help Brumm change the bed.


	6. How We Met

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grimm thought it would be the time to tell his child about a very interesting story about how he met his very first friend... (and the first member of the Troupe).

Spending time in the Dream Realm was always nice, but as with anything, life made it so that Grimm and Brumm had to spend plenty of time awake in the Nightmare Realm and on the road. Currently, they were in the Nightmare Realm, having taken care of their duties regarding the troupe, and were now taking a moment to relax, spending time with their little one.

Hymm was playing with his little toy horn happily, letting out little squeaky notes and giggles as Grimm watched him happily, the two sitting on the bed as Brumm walked into the tent after having talked with Divine about resupplying, “Hey, how are you two doing?” He asked happily.

Grimm looked up at his mate, smiling, “I’m just watching our sweet child playing.” Hymm heard Brumm enter and started smiling and cooing happily, attempting to crawl over to him by scooting forward across the bed. The musician chuckled slightly at the adorable sight, Hymm almost looking like a little grub with how he moved.

“Mrmm, I’m glad he’s no longer nomming on my fluff. Oh yeah, where’s his teething ring anyway?” Brumm picked up the tiny tot, gently tickling his little belly and earning little squeals of happiness from Hymm.

“Let me see…” Grimm picked up the bag of baby stuff he had started carrying around and looked through it, pulling out a red teething ring after a moment, “Ah, here it is!” He handed it to Brumm, chuckling and smiling more as Hymm got happier at the sight of it.

“Thank you, Grimm.” Brumm took the teething ring, waving it around in front of Hymm and cooing, “Do you want this, little Hymm~?”

Hymm nodded enthusiastically, “Nyah~!!” He jumped up a little to try and get at it.

“Fine, here.” The musician started waving it closer to Hymm, who happily bit onto it and nommed happily, wiggling around, “Good, little Hymm. Now, Grimm, can I ask you something?”

“Of course Brumm, what is it?” Grimm put the baby bag back down.

“Are you starting to tell stories to our Hymm? Like, bedtime stories.” He held Hymm a little closer as the tot just happily chewed on the teether.

Grimm hummed in thought for a moment, “Hmmm, I haven’t, but we should. What story should we tell him first?” The Troupe Master had heard many stories over the years, though not all of them were appropriate for Hymm, if he’d even be able to understand them yet.

Brumm walked closer, leaning in and whispering, “How about ours? How we met~”

“Ahh, that’s the perfect story~” Grimm patted the spot next to him, to which Brumm sat down with Hymm still in his arms.

“Are you going to start it?”

“Well, I do like telling stories.” Grimm cleared his throat, then smiled softly down at Hymm, “This is a story from when I was much younger, and when I met my first friend~” He smiled at Brumm before looking back down at Hymm, “I wasn’t much bigger than you are at the time, in fact…”

_Nymm was sitting on a rock, playing his accordion peacefully. The small bushes around the rock offered him some privacy from the world, which was nice and relaxing. Usually he could be alone here and forget his problems at home, even just for a little while, and know no one would bother him. Today, however, he had an audience watching him through the bushes, a curious little being who had heard his music and wandered over._

_Nymm was unaware of his audience, until it popped out of the bushes with a big smile on their face, “Hewwo!”_

_“AH!” Nymm jumped in surprise, holding his accordion up to his face to protect himself with it, shivering in fear, “Please, don’t kill me…!”_

_“Why would I do that?” The somewhat squeaky voice asked._

_Hesitantly, Nymm lowered his instrument and looked at the voice’s owner. It was a small bug, somewhat resembling a grub, except it was black and red and had wings instead of actual arms, “Wait, you’re not one of those things,” referring to the beasts that were fairly common in the area, “Who are you?”_

_“I’m Grimm!” Grimm wiggled his way out of the bushes completely, “I wike your wusic, who are you?”_

_“Um, thanks, I’m Nymm.” Nymm held his hand out for Grimm to shake it, which he did happily._

_“Nice to meet you!” Grimm smiled more, shaking Nymm’s hand enthusiastically._

_“Nice to meet you too. You seem to be as small as me, do you have someone else with you?” Nymm started looking around for anyone else, a little worried that they’d jump out of the bushes like Grimm had done._

_Grimm let go of his hand, frowning and shaking his head, “No, just me…”_

_“Are you sure?”_

_Grimm nodded, “Uh-huh, I woke up all awone…” He frowned more, starting to get upset at the thought…_

_Nymm looked at Grimm, then his accordion, “Hmm... maybe I can cheer you up.” He started playing it again, the small bug listening and watching as he did so._

_Grimm looked up at Nymm, smiling happily, even as Nymm messed up one of the notes, “Oh, sorry about that…” Nymm frowned a little, but Grimm just smiled more._

_“Dat okay, I wike your pwaying!” Nymm smiled again at the compliment, “Thanks. I always sit here to practice my accordion when I'm bored. Oh! Do you know how to dance?”_

_“Yeah!” Grimm started ‘dancing’, which was really just him wiggling around excitedly._

_Nymm chuckled at the sight as he started to play a piece that he had written himself, “You’re pretty great at it!”_

_“Tanks! You’re great too!” the little bug giggled happily, oblivious to Nymm’s slight blush as he smiled more, “Can I go with you? I don’t wike being alone, and you’re nice.”_

_“Hmm, sure. It will be full of fun and joy.” And plus, it would be nice to have someone else to play for._

_Grimm’s smile widened as he hugged Nymm tightly, “Yay! Tank you!”_

_“W-What are you doing?” Nymm wasn’t used to… whatever this was. It was warm, and it didn’t hurt or make him feel scared, and there wasn’t any yelling either…_

_“It’s a hug,” Grimm tilted his head, “Do you wike it?”_

_“It…” Nymm hesitantly wrapped his arms around Grimm, returning the gesture, “It feels nice. I haven’t felt it once.”_

_The small bug hugged him more, “I’ll give you lots of hugs then.” Nymm’s face turned redder, which didn’t go unnoticed by Grimm who giggled, “Your face is red like me!”_

_Nymm’s face went full on red at that as he pulled back, hiding his face with his accordion, “N-No I’m not… y-your face is cute.” A second later, he realized what he had just said and turned around to try and hide his face even more._

_It was Grimm’s turn to blush a bit, “N-Nyah?” That was one of the first really nice things he had ever heard, and he really liked it._

_After taking a moment, Nymm slowly turned back around, “Pr-Pretend you didn’t hear that.”_

_Grimm just smiled up at him, “Okay!”_

Brumm sighed, “Your father was surprisingly innocent at that time…”

“Well I was just a child, what did you expect?” Grimm shrugged, before continuing with the story.

_“Soo, do you want to play with me?”_

_“Yeah!”_

_The two started playing, having fun and exploring the area around them with carefree innocence. For once, Nymm was happy being with someone, rather than sitting on that rock alone. As for Grimm, he was just as happy to not be alone, and to have someone playing with him as well. The day passed with the two playing and enjoying each other’s company, but Nymm knew it couldn’t last forever…_

_“This was really fun, Grimm. But I need to go, they might be looking for me.”_

_Grimm tilted his head, looking up at Nymm, “Who’s looking for you? Someone bad?”_

_“No, it's…” A small part of Nymm wanted to say that Grimm wasn’t wrong, but… “I really have to go now. I’m so sorry, Grimm.” He didn’t want to leave his new friend, but his parents would get mad if he wasn’t back before night…_

_“Oh…” Grimm frowned, then smiled after a moment, “Oh, wait! I have a thing for you!” He pulled out a mask with two lines going down it vertically, one over each eyehole, and held it out to Nymm, “It was with me when I woke up! A note said, 'The wearer will become the first troupe member' but I don’t know what a troupe is.”_

_Nymm carefully took the mask and inspected it. It looked like a regular mask, though a very well made one, “Hmm… it looks cool.” Nymm turned it over, looking at the back. Something about it called to him, “Maybe if I…” He put the mask on, and was surprised that it was a perfect fit for him._

_“Wow, you look so cool with it on!”_

_“Hmm… thank you. But I thought something would happen.”_

_“Mmmm, maybe something’s missing?” Grimm pulled out a piece of paper, the note he had mentioned, and started rereading it. As he did, Nymm could see something written on the back of the note._

_“Lemme see that.” Nymm held his hand out to Grimm, who gave him the note, and turned it over to read what was on the back._

_It read, ‘To whom finds the Grimmchild, they are all that is left of the Heart. It can no longer beat on its own. Join, and restart the beating of the Heart.’_

_The young bug frowned slightly in confusion, “I don’t understand, what does this mean?” He showed the back of the note to Grimm._

_“Heart… Heart sounds familiar, but I don’t know from where…” He tilted his head, trying to think._

_“Heart? Is it referring to our beating hearts? Can you recall it?”_

_Grimm hummed in thought, “Hmmm… Oh, I remember something!” He started humming a strange tune which seemed to radiate warmth from it, despite just being sound. Nymm pulled his accordion out and started trying to play along with Grimm’s humming._

_The two kept going, Grimm humming and Nymm playing, until the beetle realized that he was playing the note correctly, “I think I’m getting the hang of it…”_

_“It sounds really nice when you play it!”_

_“Hmm... usually I learn to play music when reading it, not listening to it. That's strange…”_

_Grimm looked up at his friend, tilting his head, “Nymm?”_

_“What? It’s just… I don’t feel comfortable about it. How is that possible?”_

_“I don’t know…” Grimm trailed off mid-sentence and started looking around, “What’s dat sound? It’s like ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump…”_

_Nymm looked around as well, but he didn’t hear anything other than the quietness of their play area. As he wondered what Grimm could have been hearing, his hands started moving on their own, playing the same tune that he had been doing so just a moment ago. He tried to stop himself, but his body wouldn’t listen to Nymm anymore, “Grimm, I-I’m not doing this! Help me, please!”_

_Grimm looked at his friend in panic, “U-Uh, I don’t know how to…! To…” Once again he trailed off, though this time his expression turned blank as he started humming again, before he started walking, Nymm feeling compelled to follow after him._

_As the two kept humming and playing, the heartbeat became louder, Nymm able to hear it now as well. Torches appeared out of thin air, alight with bright red flames. On the final note, a small circus tent appeared, and Grimm and Nymm are freed from the spell that had led them there._

_The two took a moment to clear their heads before looking up at the tent. It looked worn out and a bit ragged, and yet there was… just something about it that let the two know there was something special about it._

_However, Nymm was still wondering what exactly is special inside. "Uh, Grimm, what is this?"_

_"It's…" He hesitated, almost having the same state as Nymm, "...Big ba-bump is waiting for us."_

_And without waiting for a response from the other, Grimm went inside the tent, Nymm quickly following behind. The tent was empty, aside from rows of seats and many curtains surrounding a stage. Grimm seemed to know the way, leading them deeper into the tent without hesitation. As he looked around, Nymm noticed the masks lying on the floor, as if someone had arranged them to form a path, watching them as they moved. He shuddered at the thought as Grimm pulled open a curtain, moving behind it as the heartbeat got louder._

_“Grimm, I’m starting to not like this place…” He stayed close to him for comfort, nervously looking around as if someone… or something… would jump out at them at any moment. Even so, the two continued on, Grimm feeling compelled by some unseen force and Nymm not wanting to be alone in such a scary place._

_After a bit, they stopped in front of another set of curtains, “Ba-bump coming from here…” Grimm hesitated, before reaching out and opening the curtains, revealing the source of the sound they had been following._

_In the center of a room seemingly too big for the tent was a patch-work heart, ragged with different hues of red fabric stitched together to form one big heart. It was slow, but it was clearly beating like an actual heart would, with “veins” connecting it to the rest of the tent presumably._

_“What is that? Is that the ba-bump?”_

_“Yeah, that’s the ba-bump!” Grimm moved closer, his eyes fixed on it. As the small bug got closer, the beating of the heart started to get faster. Nymm moved behind Grimm, staying as close as he could while cautiously looking at the thing in front of them. Grimm frowned slightly, tilting his head, “Ba-bump isn’t doing good. Maybe…” He started humming again, and the heart responded, beating faster and getting closer to what a normal heartbeat should be._

_Nymm started to calm down a bit, since it didn’t seem like the Heart wanted to hurt them in any way. If anything, it still looked pretty weak, “Hmm… Maybe I could help as well.” He pulled out his accordion, playing the piece that had brought them there._

_The heart beat went faster and faster. Along with their humming and playing, it finally reached a healthy and steady beat, at which point a burst of flame filled the room before fading out. The Heart now looked healthy._

_The two looked over it for a bit in silence, before Nymm spoke up, “I think it's fine now, Grimm.” He hesitated for a moment, before the two put their hands on the Heart. As soon as they did, memories and knowledge flooded over their minds, teaching them what the Nightmare Heart really was, and what the Nightmare troupe was going to be._

_Nymm immediately stepped back, feeling dizzy. He shook his head to try and make the feeling go away, taking a few deep breaths, “What have we created?” He looked around, and was amazed to find that the tent itself looked better already, holes and worn out fabric now looking as good as new._

_“The Grimm troupe, we made the Grimm troupe…!” Grimm looked up at the Heart, his hand still on it as he admired it with a sense of reverence._

_“Your troupe…?” Nymm mumbled quietly to himself, “I think this is nicer than…” He raised his voice back up for Grimm to hear him again, “What are we going to do with it?”_

_“We're gonna keep the Nightmare Heart beating, and travel all over the world.” In that moment, Grimm spoke with a maturity that seemed to come from many years more than he appeared to have._

_“But…” Nymm shook his head, shaking off the thought that had started creeping into his mind, “I’ll go with you, no matter what.” He slowly smiled at Grimm, who returned it._

_“Tank you, Nymm.” Grimm smiled, his face beaming when Nymm lifted his mask up to show his smile, the same one he had when they first met._

In the present day, Grimm smiled lovingly at Brumm as he spoke to Hymm, “And that’s how your father and I first met~” Hymm let out a happy ‘nyah~’ with a huge smile on his little face.

“I’m so happy that you met me, and to this day, I am very glad I met you, my Grimm~” Brumm leaned in, kissing his mate happily.

Grimm returned the kiss just as lovingly and happily, “And I am glad to have met you, and that you met me~” He pulled Brumm into a hug, careful of their little one, “I love you~”

Brumm smiled more, returning the hug, “I love you too~”

Hymm looked up at the two, his little brain trying to put two and two together, then smiling happily when he finally did, “Nyah~ Nyam~ Nymm~!” His face lit up even more, “Nymm~!”

The two embracing bugs looked down at their child in surprise, “Grimm…”

“I-I heard him…”

“Little Hymm…” Brumm lifted him up and hugged him, Hymm hugging back happily.

“Nymm~! Nymm~!” He kept cheering the name over and over happily as his parents held him close.

“Oh~ Our little Hymm knows now~” Brumm hugged Grimm, loving the feeling of having his little family so close, and Grimm felt the same.

“Mmhmm~ Your secret is out now~” He chuckled, hugging his mate and child closer, all while Hymm kept up his happy cheering and wiggling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya, we're back. Sorry took a real while due to our respective problems (me school work, Kat work stuff), and it's halting us from doing any writing. Fortunately, we sometimes had a window of opportunity and write, but it's slow progress.
> 
> Anyway, this specific chapter is heavily inspired by an artist who convinced me that Grumm ship is a very wholesome and nice ship. Hence, I started this project with Kat which I am truly passionate at. Pickles4Nickles, if you ever read this, I deeply appreciate you for showing me and everyone your work. I truly love it.


End file.
